Unknowing
by Selene Metis
Summary: With Korra's friends now living on Air Temple Island, and a surprise visit from an old friend, Korra's hectic life is going to become even more so amongst love, fear, secrets, and the unknown. Fluff story, Makorra.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Yay fluff!  
This is just a random idea i had about Legend of Korra, since i absolutely love the show. I wanted to do something involving Zuko and his legacy, but without the necessity of following the weekly plot of the show.  
So it became a fluff story!

Enjoy.

* * *

"Woooaaaahh!"

Korra was meditating at the top of a hill on Air Temple Island when she heard a loud shout erupt from the sky. She looked up from where she was sitting and saw a dark, black shape falling quickly towards the water below from an air ship in the sky. The ship had the Fire Nation emblem stamped on one side.

Korra turned her gaze back towards the falling shape. She realized it was a person, and figured that they were falling too fast to make a comfortable landing in the water.

Korra jumped from the top of the hill, landing quickly on the now-frozen water. She bent the water upwards, and it immediately engulfed the person. She let the water down slowly before dropping them into the water.

The person –a boy, Korra realized, - broke the water's surface, gasping for air. He flipped his dark, wet hair away from his face; pulled himself onto the ice Korra had formed, and stood up to face her.

"That's the last time I piss off my mom." He said, pulling at his sopping clothes.

Korra immediately recognized him.

"Lu Ten!" Korra cried, jumping into the boy's embrace.

He laughed, wrapping his arms around her waist. He squeezed her for a moment longer before holding her at arm's length. "Hey, Avatar." He said, smiling.

Korra smiled, looked away and realized that Tenzin, Mako, Bolin, Asami, Pema, and the three Airbender kids had all gathered at the end of the dock. The air ship had landed at the other end of the island.

Lu Ten grabbed Korra's hand and led her back to the dock on the ice. He didn't slip, Korra noticed, unlike he had the last time they had seen each other.

"Lu Ten," Tenzin said, smiling as Meelo pulled on his ears. "We haven't seen you since Zuko taught Korra her Firebending back at the Southern Water Tribe."

The boy smiled, dropping Korra's hand and taking Tenzin's. "It's been too long." He turned towards Pema, leaning over to kiss her on the cheek, "Another Airbender?"

Pema sighed, but smiled up at him anyway. "Yes."

"Lu Ten! We haven't seen you in forever! How's your mom? How's Zuko? Are you in love with anyone? Guess what! There are three new people living with us! It's like a big party, but daddy says it gives him a headache and-"

Lu Ten laughed, grabbing Ikki into a hug and cutting her off mid-sentence. "It's good to see you, too, crazy," he said, ruffling her hair. Ikki pouted up at him. "Jinora," he said, looking at the older girl. She smiled shyly before greeting him.

Meelo screamed, jumping from his father's head to run around in a circle on the ground.

Someone behind them coughed, and Korra immediately recognized the joking tone of Bolin.

"Lu Ten," Korra said, taking his hand and moving him slightly away from the Airbenders. She used her free hand to gesture towards her friends. "This is Asami and Bolin, a couple of my friends here." Korra looked around. "Where's Mako?"

Bolin looked uncomfortable, but she noticed his eyes shifted back towards the Temple. "He left?" Korra asked, anger seeping into her voice.

"Don't worry, Korra. I'm sure he's just off with Pabu somewhere. Or maybe he's feeding Naga." Asami looked back towards where Mako had disappeared, "I'll go find him," she said, her voice a song as she turned on her heel and walked away.

Bolin slapped Lu Ten on the shoulder. "Don't worry about Mako, dude. He's not very good at meeting new people. Especially people associated with Korra. Oh, and Asami's his girlfriend." He laughed good-naturedly as Korra looked away.

She didn't like where the conversation was going.

Lu Ten seemed to sense this because he took his hand from Korra's and placed it on her shoulder. "Quite a group of people you've got here, Avatar," he said, laughing as Meelo started biting Bolin's shoe.

"I hope that taught you to behave on trips." A feminine voice called from the left. Korra looked over, and recognized the Fire Lady and ex Fire Lord as her face broke into a large grin.

She ran from where she was next to Lu Ten and collided with Zuko. Although he was older, he still managed to catch her in a hug. His daughter, On Ji, walked past them towards Tenzin and the group. Korra couldn't hear their greetings, but she could hear a bit of what On Ji and Lu Ten were saying.

"I can't believe you're here," Korra said, her grin practically splitting her face.

Zuko chuckled slightly, holding her at arm's length. "When Lu Ten suggested we come, I was more than happy to visit you. How's your Firebending?"

"Comes in handy. No Mai today?" Zuko shook his head.

He smiled at her, leading her back to the dock. Ikki, Jinora, and Meelo were gone, and Bolin was over at the gates with Mako. Tenzin and Pema were talking to On Ji, smiling euphorically.

Zuko went off to talk to Tenzin and his wife as Lu Ten walked back towards her. "How long have you been here Avatar?"

Korra rolled her eyes, moving to walk up the stairs towards the training grounds. The place she was headed was used mostly for sparring, but Korra like to go there sometimes to think.

Lu Ten followed suit. "A while." She answered, unsure of the days. "It's fun here, though. Especially with t-the kids." She looked away, her voice wavering. Korra had wanted to talk about her friends on the island, but the thought of them only brought distorted feelings.

"And what about the newbies?" Lu Ten asked, sitting on a bench on the outskirts of the grounds.

Korra faltered, coming to a stop where she stood. "I-uh, they're a good addition. Tenzin thinks their crazy, and he's definitely wishing for the quiet he used to have before-" Lu Ten raised an eyebrow, bringing her words to a stop.

Ever since they became friends in the Southern Water Tribe, Lu Ten had always been able to read her expressions. It had been cool when they had first met, but now it was just annoying.

"Korra." A familiar voice said behind her. "Bolin said you wanted to see me."

Korra turned around and her breath caught. Mako was leaning against a tree just outside of the grounds, his hands in his pockets. He looked up and het her eyes, his golden ones almost seemed angry.

Things between them were still rocky, especially when Korra learned that Mako hadn't told Asami about their kiss, but Korra wanted to believe that things were going to get better. Of course when Mako barely spoke to her for days, it was hard to keep thinking positively.

"Uh, no. I don't think so." Korra said, scratching her head. Mako moved towards the center of the large ring, his hands still in his pockets. Lu Ten stood from where he was sitting to meet Mako in the middle.

"We didn't meet this morning," Lu Ten said, holding out his hand. "I'm Lu Ten. I've been a friend of the Avatar here for a while now."

Mako looked uncertain, but took his hand from his pocket to shake Lu Ten's. "Right, sorry about that. Pabu has a very specific time schedule for food." Korra glared at him, her lower lip jutting out into a pout.

He didn't even look at her. She knew he was lying, since Pabu ate whenever he had food, but she wouldn't call him out on it.

They dropped hands, and both of them seemed a little unnerved. Mako went to sit on the bench without saying a word to either of them. She turned her head back to Lu Ten as Mako focused on a place in the distance to stare at.

"Great guy, Avatar, I can see why you're so-"

"Mako, would you mind doing me a favor?" Korra recognized Zuko's voice, and as she turned she saw him standing at the top of the stairs.

Mako looked nervous, but stood up and nodded.

Zuko smiled, clasping his hands in front of him. "Very good. Now, would you please spar with Korra?"

Korra raised an eyebrow, looking between Mako and Zuko. "Why?" she asked.

Lu Ten whispered, "I think there's a teaching involved in this," he said, laughing slightly. Korra did as well; Zuko did take after his late uncle.

Mako met Korra's eyes, and they nodded at each other. Lu Ten squeezed Korra's shoulder before moving to stand next to his Grandfather.

Korra walked to the outer side of the ring as Mako did the same on the opposite side. Zuko watched him closely, ignoring whatever Lu Ten was saying to him.

"Fire only, please, Korra." Zuko said, winking at her.

"That's no fun!" Korra complained, shaking the ground beneath her master. He simply laughed.

Mako shot the first jet of fire, aiming for Korra's left shoulder. She dodged it easily, throwing a punch towards him. He spun around it, kicking a flame at her. She flipped over it, punching a few shots of fire back at him. He stuttered, but quickly recovered to fire back at her.

They went on like this, pretty evenly matched, until neither of them had a concept of time anymore. They had gotten progressively closer to each other, their shots becoming quicker and more accurate.

It was almost a routine by now, since the two of them had spent so much time sparring before matches. But this time Mako's shots were different, almost as if he were trying to prove something.

Mako lifted his leg and shot fire at her, but Korra ducked under it and shot a jet towards Mako's stomach. He didn't see it coming, and it directly hit him in the chest. He cried out, more in frustration than in pain, and fell back onto the ground.

Korra, still reeling from her powerful punch, stumbled over Mako's feet and fell on top of him. Uncomfortable, she stood up. Korra put her foot on Mako's chest, declaring herself the winner of the spar. She had wanted it to be funny.

As she leaned over to offer her hand, she caught a brief look of real anger cross his face. But he took her hand and after a few seconds he was back on his feet.

Was he angry with her for beating him at the spar? Or was it something to do with Lu Ten?

Korra was about to ask Mako what was wrong when Zuko walked into the ring. He nodded at the Firebender as if he had just answered a question correctly.

"Tomorrow we'll begin."

"Begin what?" Mako asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

Zuko almost looked surprised. "Your training. I'm going to teach you the art of traditional Firebending."

* * *

There ya have it. I'll continue on in this one, with fun relationship drama.  
Everyone watch Legend of Korra, (Since it's super awesome), oh, and review?

Yeah, tell me what you thought(:


	2. Agreements

__**A/N: **Woooo! Thank's for all the positive reviews guys! It may or may not be the reason why this update is so soon o.O

Anyway, like i mentioned on the last chapter, fluff!  
This is all stuff i really wish would happen In Korra, especially because i would love to see someone like Zuko's child come and wreak havoc on the Krew.

So enjoy and let me know what you think!

* * *

Mako looked taken aback. Even Korra's jaw dropped a little from her spot next to the Firebender. Lu Ten looked a little smug, he had been the one to guess that there would be a lesson involved, after all.

"With all do respect, sir," Mako said uncertainly, "I already know how to Firebend."

Zuko chuckled, moving to stand directly in front of Mako. "You know how to bend to protect yourself. Due to Tenzin's explanation, I know you were living in the streets before Probending." Mako broke eye contact. "You learned how to bend by yourself, and then mastered your craft by fighting in an enclosed, controlled arena.

You focus a little too much on obvious weak points of a Firebender. You know where they can be taken down from, and only aim for those areas. But you don't look for surprises, and that's where Korra got the upper hand." Zuko said, scrutinizing Mako's expression.

Korra put her hand on Mako's shoulder- she knew how hard this must be for him to hear- and to her surprise he didn't shake it off.

"Korra has mentioned that you don't do well fighting against experienced non-benders-" Now he knocked her hand off, "And I can help you with that. Think of how much better you can be, in the arena and outside of it, when you know how to Firebend from inside, and not for a title."

Mako was silent. Korra took a step away, feeling a little awkward in a conversation so deep between two other people. Lu Ten nodded his head towards the bench and she walked to sit next to him on it.

"Told you there was a lesson," Lu Ten breathed as Korra sat down. Korra rolled her eyes but didn't answer; her focus was on the Firebenders.

Mako's eyes were still down, his hands were in his pockets, and Zuko was talking animatedly with his hands.

Finally, Korra heard a sigh escape from Mako's lips. He nodded, before meeting Zuko's gaze and smiling, "All right, I'll let you teach me."

Zuko placed his hand on Mako's shoulder, smiling over at where Korra and Lu Ten sat.

"You didn't have a choice, young Mako." Zuko said, laughing again.

Lu Ten stood, bringing Korra with him. "Good luck, man. Grandfather's a glutton for lessons." Lu Ten laughed along with his Grandfather, some inside joke that could only transcend the generations.

"Good choice, Mako." He looked at Korra, nodded, but his head turned towards the staircase as someone called out his name.

Before Korra could register who it was, Asami had run into Mako's arms and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Korra looked away, uncomfortable. Lu Ten met her eyes and made a gagging face, causing Korra to giggle and cover her mouth.

"We heard as we walked up the stairs," Asami said, looking up to meet Mako's eyes. She gestured behind her before pulling Mako's face down to meet his lips with hers.

On Ji stood next to her father, sighing and shaking her head. "Father, I told you I only wanted to stay for today. You can't take on an apprentice."

Zuko merely waved her disapproval away. "He needs this. You may leave, daughter, because we all know you have many responsibilities in the Fire Nation. I'm staying." He took Lu Ten's arm and pulled the boy close to him. "And he may choose whether he wants to stay or not." Lu Ten met Korra's eyes.

There was something in them, something that seemed to say she was the only reason he would stay. Their years of friendship were one thing, but being seventeen was another. They weren't fourteen and fifteen anymore.

"I'll stay."

On Ji sighed. "I guess I should have seen that coming." She rubbed her temple. "My guards and I will leave after dinner tonight." She nodded at Korra, her family, and Mako and Asami, (who didn't notice because they were still kissing,) before turning on her heal and walking to the stairs.

"Maaaakkkkkkooooooooo!" A tiny voice yelled, causing the couple to break apart. Meelo jumped straight into Mako's arms, crawling onto his shoulders before beginning to gnaw on Mako's ears.

Mako's eyebrows raised, but he didn't want to upset the young Airbender. "Hi, Meelo." Jinora and Ikki ran up and circled Zuko, Ikki bouncing in place with some hidden excitement.

"Zuko, will you tell us stories? We want to know about everything. What happened after the war? When did you marry Mai? When did On Ji take the throne? What did you eat at the Palace? Where's Azula? Where was your mom? Does your daughter have any friends?"

"Ikki, please slow down," Zuko said, as each of the children took one of his hands and led him away.

Asami was leading Mako towards the Temple, Meelo still glued to his shoulders, but he turned his head around and met Korra's gaze. Embarrassed, she looked away first before she could reveal any emotions.

* * *

Dinner at the Temple was indescribable. If Korra had to choose one word, she would have to say _loud_.

Zuko, On Ji, Pema, and Tenzin all took up the top four corners of the table. Scattered around them were the children, all reaching around each other to try to get some food.

Korra was sitting across from Mako, who was wedged between Jinora and Ikki. Next to Ikki was Asami, whose arm was being bitten by Meelo. Bolin and Lu Ten were sitting to the left of Korra, both of them making loud jokes and laughing often.

To their credit, the adults kept their tempers very well. None of them yelled, although Tenzin did look close to bending his young children out the window.

"Have you ever been a leaf?" Meelo asked suddenly, ending his meal of Asami's arm to ask her.

Asami looked confused. "A leaf? No, I suppose I can't say I ever had."

Meelo looked upset, but was quickly distracted by a pastry on the table.

Mako met Korra's eyes from across the table, and they both smiled at the same time. "I let you win," he said. He said it quietly, but Korra didn't miss a word.

She laughed silently. "Yeah, right. Like Zuko said, I had the upper hand."

He rolled his eyes and shook his head. "No way. I've fought you in the arena before. I know how you fight, so I let you win."

"You wanted to look weak in front of the best Firebender in the world?"

"No, Korra, I just felt bad that I beat you in our last spar."

"I beat you in that one-" Korra started, but she was interrupted as On Ji and Tenzin stood.

"I must be leaving if I'm to make it back to the Fire Nation in time for the Council meeting tomorrow morning." On Ji said, making her way to the door.

"Council meeting?" Bolin asked, as Mako raised an eyebrow.

"You didn't mention any meeting." Lu Ten said, staring at his mother.

Tenzin sighed. "There's a very important meeting tomorrow that none of the Council can miss. It's in the Fire Nation this time."

"So… you're leaving?" Korra asked, her eyes meeting Lu Ten's.

Tenzin looked unhappy. "Yes. Pema, Ikki, Jinora, Meelo and I are leaving with On Ji tonight. Zuko is staying here," he finished, looking directly at Asami and Mako.

The group slowly migrated back to the dock to see everyone off before they would disperse for their own nighttime activities.

The Fire Nation airship was waiting at the end of the dock, and On Ji boarded quickly after a subtle goodbye to her father and son.

Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo all mouthed goodbyes from one of the windows of the ship, and Pema was slowly making her way up the ramp.

"I want you all to behave." Tenzin said. "Zuko will be here, but you are not allowed to take advantage of him. He is older now then when he taught you, Korra, and that will compromise his personality. You are not to take advantage of him if he falls asleep or can't remember something," Tenzin said, gesturing to where Zuko had fallen asleep on a bench at the beginning of the dock.

Asami and Mako were sitting on the deck, their legs dangling over the edge and Asami's head was resting on his shoulder.

Tenzin pointed at them and made a very animated gesture with his hands, "Nothing inappropriate with them." He looked at Korra then, giving her an almost knowing look.

Yeah, like Korra was going to try and ruin Mako's relationship.

Besides, Tenzin would only be gone for two days.

"Mr. Tenzin, don't you worry. We will be the best of friends and near angels while you're gone." Bolin said, giving Tenzin a winning smile. Tenzin glared at him, but with one sweeping motion he turned and disappeared through the door to the airship.

Korra ignored Bolin and Lu Ten's protests and Asami's questions as she turned and ran back towards the back end of the Temple.

She stood face-to-face with a newspaper hanging over a wire. Lin's face glared back to her accompanied with an article about Korra's rampage on the city the first time she had gotten there.

Korra stood in front of the paper, using all of her inner strength and resolve to try to flutter the pages, but she was consumed with thoughts that were preventing her from focusing enough to Airbend.

Korra hadn't seen Lu Ten for almost three years before he showed back up. Now it seemed as if there was something between them, and only because of one stare. But Korra was still confused about her feelings for Mako-

Okay, there really wasn't any confusion there. Korra really liked Mako, but she knew that Asami needed him more right now. Korra wouldn't compromise her friendships because of a crush on someone.

Korra shoved at the paper time and time again, but there was no sudden outburst of wind, no flutter, no nothing.

Upset, Korra quickly bent two earth disks from the ground beside her and threw them at the paper. Lin's face shredded and the wire broke. It dropped the paper to the ground, leaving the thin black line to hover near the earth.

Korra collapsed onto the ground, too tired to move, and let her suppressed tears finally escape.

"Korra? Are you alright?"

She turned her head on the ground to where the voice was coming from. Despite her tears, her eyes widened when she realized it was Mako standing in front of her.


	3. Training

When Korra registered whom it was standing in front of her, she immediately tried to stand up, but she couldn't get any farther than a sitting position.

"Fine. Why do you ask?" Korra said, trying to sound chirpy while trying to inconspicuously wipe the stray tears from her cheeks. "Shouldn't you be asleep?"

Mako stayed where he was, but he took his hands from his pockets. "It's been hours, and when I didn't see you come back to the Temple I got worried. You shouldn't push yourself so hard."

Korra was pretty sure that he said something after that, but the last words she understood broke her spirit.

Why shouldn't she push herself hard for something like this? It was _Airbending_! She was the Avatar; it should come naturally to her! She should have nearly mastered the element by now, but she couldn't even manage a breeze.

"Korra did you hear me?"

"No." Korra sighed, hanging her head and admitting defeat.

Mako sighed, walking before he stood right in front of her. In one swift moment he sat down in front of her. Because of her new wave of tears, it took Korra a moment to raise her head and realize that she didn't have to look so high to see him, and that their knees were nearly touching.

Mako looked right at her, "I said: It's really hard for you, isn't it?"

Korra barked out a laugh, but it sounded garbled around the remains of her tears. "No it's effortless. I've actually mastered it and just decided not to tell anyone." She said as she sat up straighter, bopping her head up and down.

He raised an eyebrow at her; causing her sudden movements to come to an end and making her feel embarrassed. "Tenzin mentioned a few times that you haven't gotten any further in your training." Mako raised his arm, as if he were going to pat hers or take her hand, but decided against it and allowed his arm to fall back to his body.

"Okay, yes, I still can't Airbend. And it's killing me! Why does it have to be so hard?" Korra cried out, throwing her hands in the air, finally glad to have _someone _to complain to. Whenever she tried to say this to Tenzin he dismissed her and continued her training.

"Korra-"

"No. Listen to me." She said, feeling no regret for her outburst. "Nobody ever lets me give my opinion. I _can't do it_! I can't bend air, and I don't want to anymore! I don't need it!" She was breathing heavily, and tears were threatening to escape her eyes again.

Mako looked uncomfortable. She had never shown this side of herself before- she had always been strong and unbreakable- and it was obvious that Mako didn't know how to deal with it.

After a few minutes Korra's breathing slowed, and she realized how misdirected her anger had been. "Mako, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you."

He shook his head. He placed his hands on her shoulders and said, "You're allowed to yell, Korra. You're allowed to get angry, and tell people what you think. You don't have to be invincible." Looking straight into her eyes he said, "No one expects you to be."

He stood suddenly and made his way to the back entrance of the temple, leaving Korra alone on the ground.

Had that really just happened?

Most of the time, Mako gave her a nod or ignored her whenever they were in the same room. Now he had told her that she didn't have to be strong all of the time, and momentarily lifted most of the weight of the world from her shoulders.

For some odd reason, the conversation made Korra feel better. Sure, she still couldn't Airbend, and there was a crazy addition to her family on the island, but Mako had made her feel a lot better.

Korra hadtime to master Airbending. She didn't have to do this minute before bed. She was young, younger than most Avatars when they even _begin_ to master the elements, and far more advanced than anyone had thought the next Avatar would be.

A soft whine came from behind Korra's shoulder, and as she turned her head she was greeted with a mouthful of fur. Her smile, which had grown after Mako left, expanded even more as she wrapped her arms around Naga's neck.

Letting out a happy scream, Korra squeezed Naga's neck before letting her arms drop. She fell asleep against her Polarbear Dog's side, a smile always present.

* * *

Korra woke suddenly when the light behind her eyes became too extreme. Naga was still asleep behind her, and she guessed that it was still early morning.

Despite how early it must have been, the sun was bright and burning, and it hurt Korra's eyelids. She decided she would have to open her eyes to get to a darker place, but as she did she realized a fireball was headed straight for her head.

She instinctively jumped up and onto Naga's back as the fire landed where she had been sitting not a moment before. It dissolved quickly, but the sudden heat caused Naga to stir, effectively shoving Korra back onto the ground.

"Oomph!" She cried, falling onto her stomach.

"Sorry Korra!" A familiar voice cried as she stood slowly, rubbing her right elbow. Korra walked around one of the columns holding up the roof, taking in the scene in front of her.

Mako was going through the same Firebending stances she had done a few years ago, periodically shooting fire from his hands or feet. Zuko was standing on the outside of the circle, shouting commands to the young boy. Asami and Bolin were sitting on one of the benches, Boling trying his hardest to make the girl laugh. Lu Ten was standing behind them, shaking his head at the Earthbender's jokes.

Lu Ten looked up as Korra entered farther into the grounds, his face breaking into one of the biggest smile's she had ever seen.

Korra walked over to the trio, finally letting her hand drop from her elbow, and Bolin greeted her with a cheesy noodle joke.

It was early. She laughed.

"Why did they start so early? Doesn't Zuko know the morning is evil?" Korra asked, slumping against Lu Ten's shoulder.

"You should know," Lu Ten said, "He's your Master, too."

Asami spoke as if Lu Ten had not, "Zuko's pretty strict, Korra. He basically blasted Mako out of bed this morning, forcing him down to these grounds. We followed later because we felt bad." Suddenly her brow furrowed in horror, "Oh, I hope we didn't wake you!"

"It wasn't you," Korra said, raising a hand to stop Asami's concerns. "It was a very mistimed shot by a certain male Firebender!" she called, cupping her hands around her face so Mako would hear her.

He laughed, breaking one of the stances. "No games!" Zuko cried, forcing Mako back to attention.

"I don't know how you dealt with him, Korra." Bolin said, shaking his head. "It's been nearly an hour since we came and Mako hasn't gotten any breaks."

Korra laughed. "Just wait. Zuko's going easy on him. A few days from now? Mako will be meditating on the top of the hill for _hours. _No exceptions," she said, nudging Lu Ten in the stomach as he laughed along with Bolin and Asami.

"No, Mako! Do it again, but get it right this time!" Zuko's empowering voice made them all fall silent. Korra looked back towards the circle as Mako took the same stance he'd been in for the past few minutes. Zuko looked annoyed, and Mako looked as if he'd failed.

"I guess this is where the relentless part comes in, right Korra?" Asami said, never taking her eyes from her distressed boyfriend.

Korra sighed, "Yes." Mako was going to be in a lot of pain later from the constant stances, breathing techniques, and the feeling of uselessness. Zuko had a way of making you feel like you were the worst Firebender he'd ever seen and only he could make you any better.

Finally, Zuko allowed Mako to take a few minutes off. Mako grabbed a cup of tea and a few pieces of fruit from a tray piled with food and cups from outside of the ring before walking over to the group.

His breathing was heavy, but it sounded like it was a lot more controlled than it could have been.

Asami stood, touching his cheek. "Are you hurt?" she asked, placing her fingers to a fresh scratch on his face.

Mako chuckled a little. "No, Asami. It was just something I got while fighting against Zuko as we started this morning. It's nothing serious, I'm fine."

Asami stood on her tiptoes to kiss the cut on his cheek. "If you get seriously hurt during all of this, training ends and you don't learn from him." She had grabbed his chin to bring his face closer to hers, and although her words held a serious meaning, she was smiling along with her boyfriend.

"Blegh, save the oogies for somewhere else!" Bolin said, making a gagging face at his brother. Lu Ten and Korra laughed as Bolin ducked under a strategically shot fireball.

"How's Grandfather treating you so far?" Lu Ten asked after Bolin's hair had stopped singeing. "We caught the last part, but none of us were up as early as you were."

"I wouldn't even be up _now_ if it wasn't for your Firebending," Korra muttered at Mako, ducking under Lu Ten's hand as he tried to swat the back of her head.

Mako smiled at her, their conversation from last night playing in both of their minds, before looking back at Lu Ten and saying, "It hasn't been too bad. But I know I'm gonna feel these muscles in the morning," he said, rolling back one of his shoulders.

"Mako, back to training!" Zuko cried. Mako quickly stuffed the small pile of fruit in his mouth and downed the rest of the tea before jogging back to Zuko.

He put the cup down on the tray again before taking the stance Zuko ordered him into. Asami sat down on the bench again, but she seemed distant.

"You're not worried about Mako, are you?" Bolin asked, an over exaggerated look of horror on his face.

Asami laughed a little, smiling at her boyfriend's brother. "I'm just afraid he wont learn anything from this, and all his pain will be for nothing."

Lu Ten put his hand on her shoulder. "Grandfather won't let him learn for nothing. If Mako doesn't show progress, Grandfather will only make him work harder."

Asami looked a little relieved, but Korra knew she was still worried for Mako's training.

* * *

The sun was setting on Air Temple Island and a light snowfall was starting to settle on the ground. Tenzin and the Airbenders would be home in the morning, and Korra was trying to relish in the last few hours she had in the quiet.

Only it wasn't working too well.

Bundled in parkas and holding cups of warm tea, everyone was sitting at the end of the dock where the Ferry loaded and unloaded. They all sat on the edge facing the destroyed arena. Korra thought the sight would be too much for Mako and Bolin, but if they were upset they weren't showing it.

Bolin and Lu Ten were laughing at the top of their lungs, both of them making bad jokes over each other's. Asami was reading one of Jinora's books, and Mako was giving his brother looks that could kill.

Korra sat between Mako and Lu Ten, but both of them were distracted with their partners. Lu Ten didn't look her way as he made jokes, and Mako mostly glared at his brother from behind her back.

The entire day had passed with the group watching Mako train, occasionally taking breaks to get food or check for messages from Tenzin. Zuko had finally ended training right before dinner, but Mako had eaten in his room.

Korra suspected it had to do with the pain and not wanting to look weak in front of his friends, but he said he was simply tired.

Asami had finally gotten him to leave his room as the sun started to set, and he reluctantly made the trek out to the dock. Bolin had mocked him about it the entire time, but instead of blasting him, Mako let his brother have his fun.

Now, the five of them watched the retreating sun as Zuko snored from his chair behind them. Korra was playing with the water in front of her, freezing some parts for Pabu to stand on while making hoops for him to jump through. She would sometimes make them move just as Pabu would jump to them, causing him to fall and whine in protest, making the Waterbender laugh.

Suddenly Lu Ten stuck his fist out next to Korra, causing a jet of fire to hit one of the hoops Pabu was aiming for. It turned to steam as he jumped, making Pabu snarl at it.

Everyone was quiet, looking at the young boy. "Dude, you're a Firebender?" Bolin asked.

Korra slapped her forehead at her forgetfulness. Lu Ten looked at her, confusion evident in his eyes. "Did we forget to mention that?" he asked her. Lu Ten shrugged, though, facing the Earthbender, "It's not a big deal."

"It still would have been good to know." Mako said, looking a little suspicious. Korra pouted at him, it wasn't fair for him to judge Lu Ten. So he hadn't firebended yet while on the island, that wasn't a reason to dislike him.

Seeing her expression, Mako's face softened and he turned back to Asami.

Zuko's snoring suddenly stopped with a loud gasp, and the five teenagers all turned to look at the older man.

"Lu Ten will help with your training, Mako. I thought I had mentioned that," Zuko said, rubbing his chin as he slowly started to doze off again.

Mako raised an eyebrow at the newcomer, but Lu Ten put his hands up in protest. "News to me, pal." He said.

This was news to Korra as well, since Zuko hadn't told her anything. Come to think of it, Zuko had mostly been distant so far during his stay.

During the day he had only spoken to give exercises to Mako, and during the rest of the day he had stayed a little ways away from the teenagers. He didn't show up for dinner, either, Korra realized, narrowing her eyes at the sleeping form of her Firebending Master. He was either sick, hiding something, or just really didn't like kids.

Korra was nearly a hundred percent sure he was hiding something.

Mako shrugged, the sudden movement near her shoulder bringing Korra back from her thoughts, and turned his head back to the ruined arena as Asami laid her head against his shoulder.

* * *

**A/N: **Gotta love fluff, huh?  
Review and tell me what you thought, yeah?

Also, did anyone else watch episode 8 of Korra? Insane, right!


	4. Turmoil

_"Do you ever feel it?_

"What?"

"Aang's spirit." Korra snorted, smacking her friend on the shoulder.

They were sitting on the rocks at the opposite side of the island, staring out towards Avatar Aang's statue. Korra had only been here a couple of times, but she had come out early this morning. Lu Ten had found her a few hours later.

The two of them had sat in silence for a while, but he had broken it with his recent question.

"I'm serious," Lu Ten said, slinging his arm casually over her shoulder.

Korra rolled her eyes, leaning against his chest. Their legs were hanging over the edge of the rock, the water churning slightly under their feet.

Finally she sighed, looking up to meet his eyes. "No. Spiritual failure, remember?"

He rolled his eyes in response, looking back to Aang's statue. "You're not a failure." He said after a moment, his voice almost a whisper.

Korra bit her lip and looked towards the statue, too. She wanted to feel something, _anything, _when she looked at it, but she never could. The few times time she had come here she had meditated, practiced her forms, and tried to connect with Aang, but there was never any improvement.

"The White Lotus seems to think I am."

"Please." Lu Ten said, squeezing her closer to his chest. "Grandfather keeps saying that they've lost most of their wisdom since Iroh's time in the Order."

Korra looked up to meet his eyes, but he was still looking at Aang' statue. "Do you believe him?"

He was silent. Korra didn't want to press the matter if he didn't want to talk about it, but she was genuinely curious. Lu Ten and his Grandfather were incredibly close, (something she had learned in the Southern Water Tribe,) and Korra knew that he wouldn't want to do anything to offend his elder.

"I don't know." He said finally. "Sometimes I think he's right, and then I remember that things have changed. It's not seventy years ago anymore, this isn't a post-war Order, and the issues aren't the same. The White Lotus has to deal with a new, crazy, hotheaded Avatar-" She aimed a smack at his shoulder but he continued regardless of her actions, "And there are new problems to deal with. They may not have the same mentality as the Order did back then, but they're doing the best they can. You know?"

He pulled away a little, looking down at her. She could see his turmoil hidden in the depths of his eyes. "Have you mentioned any of this to Zuko?" She asked.

He laughed, a short, uncomfortable sound. "Nah. It's just some stupid theory I have."

"It's good." Korra said after a few minutes of uneasy silence.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "You think so?"

She shrugged. "Why not? You're right. The Order has new problems, and in turn has to think in new ways. Maybe Zuko's just stuck in the past. Or he just doesn't want to see a change in the world he's worked so hard to create."

Lu Ten laughed, but this time it was a genuine, happy chuckle that made Korra smile with him. "You have no idea how good it feels to have you agree, Avatar."

They settled back against each other, ignoring the storm clouds that were beginning to form overhead.

Korra nudged him in the side a few minutes later. "Still a spiritual failure, no matter what the White Lotus has to believe."

"Still don't agree with you," he said, poking her in the side with his other hand.

She retaliated, moving forward to tickle his stomach. Lu Ten stood to get away from her hands, and looked like he was going to move around her, but Korra stopped him mid-stride with Earthbending. Although he couldn't move his feet he grabbed her wrists and pulled her arms behind her, bringing her closer to his chest.

They were too close for Korra's liking. She was confused, and Lu Ten showing up hadn't made anything easier, but her mind was hazy due to how close their bodies were.

Lu Ten's eyes were bright, as if he was incredibly happy at how their morning had turned out. Korra's breath caught as he moved his head down slightly towards hers, but she found herself coming a little closer to him-

"Mako, stop!" A sudden, loud giggle from the trees behind them quickly broke the spell between the two teenagers.

Korra's head snapped up as Mako and Asami broke through the trees, his arm over her shoulder, and her hands on his chest as if to shove him playfully.

Mako and Asami's laughter stopped suddenly as they noticed Korra and Lu Ten. The four teenagers stared at each other, none of them able to come up with anything to say anything to fill the awkward silence that had sprung up.

Asami and Mako stared at the two of them; different variations of shock clear on their faces. But Asami looked smug, and Mako's eyebrow was raised, and Korra realized that she and Lu Ten were still _extremely_ close.

She immediately jumped out of the Firebender's embrace and coughed loudly as she released Lu Ten's feet. She had wanted to cover the sound of the earth so the situation didn't seem worse, but one look at Asami's knowing smile and Korra accepted that it hadn't worked.

"Man, I had no idea having your feet stuck in rock was so uncomfortable," Lu Ten said, smiling at Korra.

She ignored the wink he sent her way.

"Hey, guys." Korra said slowly after a few more minutes.

"We had no idea you were up here!" Asami said, stepping out from Mako's arm. She took Korra's hands and leaned down to whisper, "Sorry. Next time we'll let you two finish."

Korra gulped as Asami stepped back. Nothing had happened, so why did she and Lu Ten look so guilty?

"Asami, maybe we should leave," Mako said, speaking for the first time. His hands were back in his pockets and he was staring at Aang's statue, instead of any of them.

"No, no. You guys stay. We've been out here for hours." Korra cringed; Lu Ten was _not_ helping their current situation. Regardless, he took her elbow and began to lead her back through the trees.

Korra turned around and saw that Asami was back in Mako's arms, and the two were laughing at something while looking at the statue.

Korra didn't turn around again as Lu Ten led her back towards the temple, and she didn't see how Mako watched the pair until they disappeared through the throng of trees.

* * *

"Ah, Korra. I've been looking for you."

Lu Ten and Korra had just made it back to the doors to the Temple when Zuko stood up from a bench slightly outside of it.

Korra smiled, "Hi, Zuko."

"Lu Ten, brighten up." Zuko said, his loud laugh echoing around the ground as he slapped a hand on his grandson's shoulder. Lu Ten looked upset for a brief second, but he immediately put his views aside to laugh with his grandfather.

"Good morning, Grandfather. I'm going to get breakfast. Avatar, want to join me?" the boy said, reaching out to take Korra's hand.

But Zuko took her hand instead, dropping his other one from Lu Ten's shoulder. "I'm afraid Korra won't be going with you." Lu Ten raised an eyebrow, but nodded before entering the door to the Temple.

Korra and Zuko walked down the stairs back towards the beach. She couldn't figure out where they were going, and was surprised when Zuko stopped them at the beginning of the dock.

The waves were churning over each other at a much faster pace than they had when she and Lu Ten had been on top of the mountain, and looking up Korra realized that the storm was a lot closer.

"I hope they get back soon," Korra said, speaking for the first time since they had begun walking. "This storm won't be easy to maneuver through."

Zuko didn't say anything. Korra half-heartedly believed that he had fallen asleep standing up. But as she turned around she realized that he was gazing out towards the destroyed arena, a few tears falling from his eyes.

"Zuko? Zuko, what's wrong?" Korra cried, fear slipping into her voice. She had never seen him cry, not even when a Polarbear dog at the Southern Water Tribe had hurt Lu Ten.

He tried to smile at her, but his heart wasn't in it. "I'm just remembering." He said softly, taking Korra's hand.

She didn't say anything. She realized from his expression that he was lost in his memories, and Korra didn't want to intrude on something that was so special to him.

After what seemed like forever, Zuko spoke again. "Things are so different now. Most of my friends are gone, and there are so many new problems to deal with. I'm not even Fire Lord anymore but I still feel as if I have to solve every problem." He laughed quietly. "On Ji hates it when I give her advice when she's ruling."

"I'm sorry, Zuko."

He waved away her apology. "Nothing about it is your fault. It's life. Things happen, and you have to learn to overcome the obstacles that are standing in your way."

That couldn't be more fitting for how Korra felt about her life at the moment.

"The only thing I don't like about life is that it takes the people you love away from you." He said after a pause. "Korra, you remember when I arrived two days ago? And you asked me why Mai hadn't accompanied me?"

"Y-yes," Korra said, thrown off from the sudden fierceness in Zuko's voice.

He shuddered, dropping her gaze to stare at the wood of the dock. "Well, she didn't come because she's gone. Mai died a few years ago, before I came to train you at your home." His voice cut off, and he dropped Korra's hand.

Korra couldn't say anything. She had had no idea. No one had told her this, even though Zuko had been at her home shortly after Mai had died.

"Zuko, I-" but she couldn't finish her sentence. Zuko just looked so sad, so broken with his hands hiding his face. She took them gently, and he raised his tear-stained face to meet her eyes. "I love you, Zuko." She said, "And Mai loved you. And Lu Ten and Tenzin and Pema and On Ji, they all love you. You may have lost someone, but don't forget about all of the people you still have with you."

His smile that followed was so genuine, so happy, that Korra found herself tearing up as Zuko pulled her into a hug.

When they broke apart it looked as if he wanted to say something, but a voice cut him off.

"It's the airship! They're back!" Asami cried, sprinting down the stairs and coming at a stop by Korra and Zuko. When she saw the emotional wreck that had become of the two of them, she stopped. "I didn't mean to- to interrupt anything."

Zuko shook his head. "You have not interrupted anything." Zuko looked back at Korra, a silent 'thank you' written in his expression.

Mako met up with the three of them a few seconds later, clearly not in a hurry. He got to the beginning of the dock just as the door to the airship opened and the Airbender kids jumped the few feet to land on the wood.

"My perfect domain!" Meelo shouted, running in a circle on the dock. Ikki noticed Pabu a few feet away and immediately began chasing after the poor Fire Ferret. Jinora simply ignored both of them, bowed at Zuko, and stood next to Mako.

Tenzin was helping Pema down the ramp, and as soon as the two of them stepped off he yelled something back towards the airship, and the large ship began lifting back towards the sky.

As it began its slow U-turn to head back to the Fire Nation, the sky opened and a heavy rain began to fall

"Hello, Master Zuko." Tenzin said when he and his wife reached the group. "Korra, Mako, Asami, it's good to see you, too."

"It's good to see you, Tenzin. You're home early. We weren't expecting you until late tonight." Zuko said, bracing himself as Meelo jumped onto his shoulder.

"Yes, well, the matter in the Fire Nation was quickly resolved. Come, Pema, I'm sure you're hungry," Tenzin said as he began to lead Pema back towards the Temple.

Suddenly Ikki stopped chasing Pabu and froze in the middle of the dock. She was speaking quickly about everything she could see, and it was difficult to hear over the wind, but a few specific sentences struck chords in Korra's mind.

"… _And where's Bolin? Why would Pabu just leave him? ... Do you think he's with the Sky Bison?..."_

"Where is Bolin?" Korra said slowly, looking over to Mako and Asami. She nearly had to shout it to be heard over the heavy rain and whipping winds.

"We haven't seen him since last night on the dock," Mako shouted back, cupping his hands around his mouth.

Zuko was leading Jinora and Ikki back towards the Temple, presumably to get them out of the rain, but Meelo was currently grasping onto Asami's leg as if his life depended on it.

She reached down to pull the young child into her arms, where he nestled in quickly.

"He doesn't like the storm," Asami said, looking at her two friends.

"Should we take him inside?" Mako asked.

Korra nodded and the three of them quickly ran to the shelter of the building, but Meelo wouldn't leave Asami's arms, even after they were out of the rain.

"Bo? You in here, bro?" Mako called, cupping his hands around his mouth again. But there was no answer.

"I think he's outside," Korra said. "That's the only explanation as to why he wouldn't answer."

"I just hope he didn't get himself in trouble," Mako said, but it was clear that he agreed with her.

Asami shifter Meelo in her arms so most of his weight was on her other arm before looking up at the two of them. "You two go look for him. I don't think Meelo's going anywhere anytime soon." Korra's mouth dropped open as Meelo lifted one eyelid to wink at her, but Asami didn't notice.

Taking her arm, Mako pulled her from her shock and led her outside. It was dark, as if night had fallen when it was only a little after noon. "Let's check the trees!" he yelled, and the two of them quickly dashed into the pelting rain.

* * *

**A/N:** There ya have it. I guess i'm updating every Saturday now? I dunno. I never really have a specific schedule when it comes to these sorts of things, but that's how it seems to be going for now.

Serious question time: How would you guys react if I made this into a longer story? Not just some shenanigans at Air Temple Island, but went through the years and followed their lives? Tell me what you think about that.

On yeah, and review! It's your positive opinions and great ideas that keep me motivated. So thanks for all of the reviews thus far, and i can't wait to see what you guys think of this installment! :)


	5. Discoveries

The rain pelted the two teenagers as they left the comfort of the air temple. It had gotten darker already in the last few minutes, and the rain was coming down even harder.

They stood in front of the doors, facing Republic City. "Where should we look?" Korra asked, cupping her hands and shouting to be heard over the wind.

"He wasn't at the cliff, and he wasn't on the dock, so maybe he's on the beach?" Mako yelled back, shrugging.

Korra shook her head. "We could see the beach from the dock. There was no sign of him. We should check- Mako what are you doing?" The boy was trying to set a flame in his palm to make some light, but the rain kept putting it out.

"It's hard to see," he murmured, avoiding her eyes.

Sighing, Korra raised her hand and formed an umbrella over them using the falling rainwater. Mako didn't even seem to notice until his flame stayed on his palm for more than a few seconds.

"Thanks. Let's check in the woods." He turned to run, but Korra grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

She shook her head. "Not so fast. This umbrella relies on the rain. If we move to fast, it'll fall apart."

He sighed. "Fine. But we're checking the woods."

Korra nodded, and they turned towards the thickest part of the trees on the island. They had to move a little slowly, since Korra had to constantly bend the water above them, but Mako kept a pretty big flame in his palm. He was able to light up a small circle of light around them, but it was still hard to see much of anything.

"Bolin! Where are you?" Korra shouted, swiveling her head around to try and find any clues.

"So you and Lu Ten, huh?" Korra froze. Mako took a few more steps, but when his flame went out again he turned around to see that she had stopped. When he stepped out of the rain again, he lit another fire.

Korra could see confusion on his face through the shadow of the light. "Why'd you stop?"

"Seriously?"

Mako nodded. "Yeah, we should keep looking for my brother." He turned to keep walking, and Korra reluctantly followed suit.

"Of course we have to keep looking for him, but you can't be annoyed with me for stopping for a minute. Especially with that question."

He looked confused again, but she could see the moment when his expression changed and he understood what she was talking about. "Well, I just assumed. After seeing you two together on the cliff."

Korra rolled her eyes. "Please, Mako. He's one of my best friends. And even if there was anything going on with between us, it wouldn't have anything to do with you."

"So there's nothing going on? Why were you almost kissing?" He asked, looking straight ahead and not at her.

She pouted, glaring at the ground for a moment before looking up. "None of your business. Why were you bringing Asami up there?"

Mako paused for a moment, and Korra raised an eyebrow. "We're dating aren't we? I'm allowed to bring her to cliffs."

"See? That's my point. If I'm not allowed to divulge in your relationship, then you can't imply things in my friendship."

Mako muttered something incomprehensible, and opened his mouth to speak when something cut him off. Both of them paused, straining their necks to listen through the trees. A loud, sharp cry of pain echoed through a couple trees, and Korra met Mako's worried expression.

She took off running towards the sound of the cries, and she could hear Mako right behind her. Following the noise, she stopped at the mouth of one of the few caves on the island. They must have been a bit farther into the trees than she thought.

"Bolin?" Mako called from behind her. They were greeted with a moan of pain, and the two teenagers walked into the cave and out of the rain.

It was a bit quieter inside, and both Mako and Korra lit fires in their palms. Bolin came into view, then, at the outermost edge of the shadows. He was sitting up against the wall of the cave, resting his leg on a rock in front of him. Judging by the way his face twisted into pain every time he touched it, Korra guessed that was where he was hurt.

Mako ran to his brother, kneeling down next to him. _There_ was the paternal instinct Korra hadn't seen in a while. "Bolin, what happened?"

The younger brother winced again before answering, "I was out in the woods to look for you guys, but I got a little turned around. I was going to go back to the Temple, but when the rain started I slipped down a hill and only came to a stop when my leg smashed into a tree. It took a long time to drag myself in here."

"Korra can you help him?" Korra walked to the other side of her friend, standing over the rock where his leg was resting.

She shook her head. "This is gonna need some serious medical attention. I can numb the pain, but that's about it." Bolin nodded, and Korra quickly began to bend the rainwater from outside the cave. She worked with it until it turned a healing blue, and then pressed it against Bolin's lower leg.

He stiffened with pain for a moment before relaxing, and he sighed as he leaned back against the wall. "Thanks, Korra."

Korra stood behind Mako, who was trying to light a fire to a few twigs in the middle of the cave. When he finally got one going, she murmured, "I've never done that before," only loud enough for Mako to hear.

"Done what?" he asked without looking up.

"Used healing when there was no sure way to fix what happened."

He stood then, looking down at her with worried eyes. "And what does that mean?"

Korra sighed. "It means he'll either be fine, knocked out because of how tired he seems, or something else. Katara mentioned something about consequences, but I'm pretty sure I slept through that lesson. Like I said, this hasn't happened before."

"Why didn't you say that beforehand?" He yelled.

"Mako, you're so beautiful." Korra and Mako froze, and the Avatar leaned around him to look at Bolin as Mako turned around.

"What?"

"You're hair, Mako, it's the most beautiful hair I've ever seen." Bolin was slumped against the wall, waving his arms in front of his body. He pointed outside, "I'm such a good Waterbender."

Mako turned around to glare at her, and she gave him an embarrassed, cheeky grin. "Sorry, Mako. I didn't realize I hadn't done that before until afterwards. I just didn't want Bolin to be in any pain. Besides, despite being loopy he doesn't look to be uncomfortable."

He sighed. "Fine. As long as he's not in pain. Now let's go," he reached down to hook his arms under Bolin's shoulders, but Korra shook her head.

"It's raining too hard outside, and the wind's too strong. It'll be difficult to walk alone, and even harder carrying your little brother," She said, crossing her arms. "We'll have to wait until the rain lets up a little."

Mako tried to stand back up, but Bolin grabbed ahold of his hair, causing the older boy to wince a little. "No, I want your hair."

Mako took his brother's hand to get his hair back, running his fingers through it when it was finally released. "Korra, isn't Mako just the greatest guy you've ever met?"

"Yeah, Bo. He's great." Korra said as she sat on the floor, resting her elbow on her knee and her head in her hand. Mako sat down next to her, close to his brother but not close enough to get hit by his flailing arms.

"Aw, thanks, Korra." Mako said.

She rolled her eyes and punched him in the shoulder. "Shut it, City Boy."

Bolin continued to spit out random sentences, and the Avatar and Firebender ignored most of them, until he said something that made Korra balk, "Mako you and Korra should get married."

Mako coughed a little, patting his brother on the shoulder. "Um, no. Bolin. I'm dating Asami, remember? And we're too young for marriage, anyway."

Bolin didn't let this faze him, though, "But you two are so good together, even though it breaks my heart."

Silence.

Neither Korra nor Mako could come up with an acceptable response to Bolin's thought.

"Bolin," Korra began, her voice breaking. "I didn't realize our kiss hurt you so much."

Bolin waved her words away. "It hurts like a rock to the chest right here," he pointed to his chest, directly over his heart, "But I guess I understand it. We had fun, I'm just not good enough for you, Korra."

"Oh, Bo." Korra said, choking up. She could feel Mako's eyes on her, but she refused to meet them. She took the Earthbender's hand before saying, "Bolin, I had the greatest time with you. And even though we may not have gone anywhere with it, you're still an amazing guy. And you're gonna get a fantastic girl, one who can burp even louder than I can."

Bolin laughed, "Doubt it, Korra. You're the burping queen."

"Thanks, Bo."

Mako didn't say anything, but there was a pained expression on his face. "Bolin, maybe you should try to sleep before saying something _else_ you're going to regret." Bolin raised an eyebrow at his brother, but then got distracted by a dripping sound from behind him.

Korra sighed after a minute. "I really hope he doesn't remember this."

"What? Why?"

"Because I don't think I can handle hearing about his heartbreak again."

Mako looked upset, but didn't say anything else on the matter. "But for your information, we're not getting married." He said, smiling at her.

"Ha, no. Way too young for marriage," Korra said, laughing with him. "Although I wouldn't mind seeing you in a tux."

"Please." Mako said. "That's something to be saved for the perfect moment. I can't have all the fangirls falling over because I step out in a suit. Gotta think of the ladies."

Korra laughed, but shook her head. "You don't even like the fangirls you guys got."

"I may not appreciate they're, well, extreme ways, but that doesn't mean I want to wish a fainting spell upon them."

Korra rolled her eyes, and said, "I'm sure you wouldn't have _that_ much of an effect on the girls."

"I guess you'll just have to wait until I wear one, won't you?" he said, winking at her.

Bolin punched his arm towards the opposite wall and bent a huge hole in the wall of the cave. "Look, guys, I'm Waterbending!" Korra sighed, fixing the wall with her Earthbending, and quickly bent the new water from her clothes.

"I guess he's not going to sleep." Mako said, shaking the water from his hair.

"Hey, wait. Do you hear that?" Korra said, putting her hand on Mako's chest to get him to stop talking.

He raised an eyebrow at her, "No. What am I supposed to be hearing?"

Korra smiled, standing up and running to the mouth of the cave. "The rain's let up." She said, turning back around to face the brothers. "Grab him," she gestured to Bolin, who wasn't talking but staring at her with wide eyes, "And let's go."

Mako obliged, leaning down to sling his brother over his shoulders effortlessly. Bolin let out a sharp cry of pain, and Mako cringed, "Sorry, bro. This isn't gonna be pleasant." He walked to where Korra was standing. It was still pretty dark out, and as much as the two of them squinted at the scenery around them, a very little part of it looked familiar. "I guess we have to find the way home."

"I'm sure it's not that far. It didn't take too long to get here." Mako nodded, and he and Korra set back out. The rain hadn't fully stopped, but it and the wind had lightened, and it wasn't difficult to walk.

It didn't take as long as Korra initially thought it would; the only thing slowing them down was Bolin occasionally smacking Mako with his arms, and eventually the Temple came into view.

Mako ducked into the building, and Korra followed quickly. No one was there, but Korra didn't think they were that far away. "Pema! Tenzin! We need some help!"

Mako didn't put his brother down, even as several people came running towards them. "What happened?" Tenzin asked as Pema stepped forward to look where Korra was pointing to Bolin's leg.

"We found him in a cave in the forest. He hurt his leg, and the rain was too strong, so it took us a little while to be able to get back here." Mako said as he Pema, Zuko, and Meelo walked through a door towards the bedrooms.

"I'm so glad he's safe." Asami said, and Lu Ten nodded. "Did it take long to find him?"

"No. We heard him shouting after a little while." Korra answered, shrugging.

"Korra? Could you come in here?" Pema shouted from the rooms. Korra ran towards the sound of Pema's voice with Lu Ten and Asami right behind her. "What exactly did you do?" She asked as Korra entered the room, pointing to Bolin's leg.

Korra bit her lip, avoiding the gazes of everyone in the room. "I-He was in pain. So I tried to heal him using the rainwater."

"Korra, even I remember Katara telling you the dangers of healing when it's either futile, or broken in such a strange way." Tenzin said, stroking his beard. "Did anything happen to him after you used your healing?"

Mako met her eyes, raising an eyebrow. She either told them how disoriented Bolin had been, or let it slide over everyone's heads. Sighing, she said, "He was a little groggy, but it wasn't bad."

Tenzin nodded, and turned his attention back to his wife, who with the aide of some of the Acolytes was settling Bolin's leg. She cringed at his yelps of pain.

Korra felt Lu Ten stand behind her, his fingers playing at her wrist. "Let me guess. The same thing happened to him, that happened to me?" he whispered in her ear.

_Crap_. Korra had forgotten the time she had tried to heal the boy's fever, but had managed to make it even worse. It was when she was still learning how to heal. As she cringed, she heard his quiet laughter from behind her, too low for anyone else to hear.

* * *

"Again!"

Korra looked up to stare at Tenzin, her mouth falling open a little. Mako was doing the same; only he was glaring at Zuko, not the Airbender.

Both of the masters had called their student's out on something, and each proceeded to send their pupil back to the beginning of the exercise.

"Mako, you must breath through the exercises. Brute strength will not be enough."

"Korra, focus on reactions. If you are not able to react quickly you will not succeed."

Both teenagers walked back to their starting positions on opposite sides of the training grounds. Mako caught her eye, making a face at her. She giggled, trying to hide it as a cough when Tenzin glared at her.

It had been a week since they had found Bolin in the woods, and although he was doing a whole lot better, Korra still felt awful for what had happened. He couldn't remember what he said in the cave though, and Korra couldn't decide if this was a good thing or not.

"Tenzin, do you think we should end this early morning session in a spar?" Zuko said, standing next to his old friend's son.

Tenzin nodded, "I think that would be a great idea. Korra's not entirely focused on Airbending right now."

"Hey!"

"Mako, come over here." Zuko yelled back to his student, who was doing some combination of push-ups and Firebending.

"Yes?" He asked, standing up and walking to his master.

"You and Korra are going to end the first session with a spar. I need to see if your fighting skills have improved at all in the last week," Zuko said, gesturing for the teenager to join Korra.

He shrugged, standing opposite Korra on the outside of the ring. She laughed, "A week isn't enough time to best the Avatar!" She taunted, pointing at her friend.

Mako raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. When Tenzin gave the okay to start, Korra was still throwing insults at him, but her words were cut off as he fired a shot at her head.

"Hey!" Korra yelled, whirling on her foot.

"Good, Korra! Nice reaction time!" Tenzin yelled.

Korra frowned, throwing two punches and kicking at his feet. He expertly ducked and jumped over her flames, sending some back that made her duck her head. Mako flipped over her next stream of flames, firing at her from midair. She moved swiftly to the side, firing at his feet as he landed.

Unable to find a place to land before the fire disappeared, Mako landed right on her flames. He fell over, landing on his back with a loud _thud_. Korra almost didn't believe that she could still win pretty easily, but she still smiled as she ran over to her fallen friend.

"Take that, City Boy!" she called, standing over him. She turned around to face Tenzin, "Did you see that? I reacted and stuff! I won!"

Unfortunately for her, she was too distracted bragging to Tenzin to see Mako on the ground below her. He quickly propped himself onto his hands, spinning his feet around to use his fire to knock her off her feet.

"Oof!" She cried, falling straight onto her back. Mako jumped to straddle her waist, holding a flame dangerously close to her face.

"I disagree. I believe that I won." He said, pinning her hands.

Korra struggled underneath him. "Get off!" She cried, pouting angrily.

"Hmm, no. I didn't hear either of them say the match was over. What if you're just trying to trick me?" Her pout turned from one of anger to one of mock pleading, and although it tore at something in Mako's chest, he raised an eyebrow at it and ignored his feelings.

"Very good, Mako. Yes, well, you can get off of Korra now. I'd say that deserves a break." Zuko said, laughing with Tenzin. "Meet back here after lunch." The two masters turned back to the Temple.

Mako stood up, putting his hand in front of him to help Korra up. She ignored his hand, though, and stood up angrily.

"I let you win."

He let out an amused snort. "Yeah, right, you didn't expect that at all."

She glared at him, but could feel a smile tugging at her lips. "Whatever. I'll get you back."

Mako shrugged, and opened his mouth to say something, but closed it quickly. Korra raised her eyebrows, but turned to face whatever he was looking at. Lu Ten and the Airbending children were making their way out to the training grounds.

"Korra did you just lose to Mako?" Ikki asked when they were a bit closer. "Cause it looked like he kicked your butt!"

"Thanks, Ikki."

Lu Ten put Meelo down on the ground as the young boy started screaming in his ear. "I don't think you did too bad, Avatar. You almost got him, but I guess your pride got in the way again." He said, casually slinging his arm over her shoulders.

Korra rolled her eyes, but smiled nonetheless. "You shouldn't be talking. Remember when I was training? I beat you so many times you refused to fight me anymore."

"I fought again eventually."

"Yeah, when Zuko threatened you!" Korra said, laughing. When she opened her eyes, she realized that all three Airbenders and Mako were gone. "Where did they go?"

"Back to the Temple, I think. At least they were headed that way." Lu Ten said, shrugging. "Want to go get some breakfast?"

Korra smiled at her friend, ignoring her annoyance at Mako's sudden departure, "Sure, let's go."

* * *

**A/N: **I'm so sorry this took so long. Every time i sat down to finally write, one of my sisters decided it was the perfect time to start their homework. That's why this one's a bit longer than the others, i was actually going to incorporate the second part into the next chapter, but decided to give it to you now.

Oh, and the part with the healing? I made that up, but i wanted a way for Bolin to express his heartbreak without going cliche and getting them all drunk or something. So it's all a made up side effect.

Anyway. Did anyone see the new LoK? I was right! Zuko's grandson is showing up. Of course, i have all the names wrong, the situation is completely different, and my story's all fluff, but still! :D

Review and let me know what you think(:


	6. Newbie

"How long do you have until your next session?" Lu Ten asked, keeping his arm around Korra's shoulders as they made their way back to the Temple.

"Until lunch is over," She answered.

They entered through the door to the kitchen, and both of them started opening cabinets and checking in the fridge. The Acolytes usually ate pretty early, and Korra didn't want to eat with the Airbending children.

"I'll be right back." Korra said, turning to duck through the door that led to the rooms, but Lu Ten grabbed her elbow.

"Where are you going?"

Korra rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. "To change. These clothes are pretty gross."

Lu Ten smiled. "I don't think you have to change."

"You like to see me in sweaty, clingy clothes?" She watched as his grin widened and she groaned, "Forget I said that."

"Whatever you say, Avatar. I found some food, looks like it's what everyone else had for breakfast. Want any?" He asked, taking a few plates from the fridge. He handed her one, and she jumped to sit on the counter.

She chewed thoughtfully for a moment before saying, "You don't have to call me that all the time."

Lu Ten leaned against the counter, holding his own dish in his hands. "Call you what?"

"'Avatar'" She said. "You're not fifteen anymore. And it's been three years. I have a name, you know."

"Korra, I know you have a name." He said, meeting her eyes. "Just because I call you that doesn't mean I'm being childish, or that I don't know your name. Remember when I first came to the Water Tribe with Zuko? I had no idea how to approach you, and I was terrified. How was I supposed to deal with the fact that you were a kick-ass Avatar, already super powerful at fourteen? I called you that, because I wanted to, and it was different than what everyone else called you."

"Lu Ten," Korra interrupted, placing a hand on her shoulder.

He raised an eyebrow at her, but didn't say anything. "Wait, Korra. When I first met you, you took my breath away. You were already a better Firebender than me, and I had been training for eight years. And although I stayed while you learned, which was only a few months, I wasn't ever able to forget you." He laughed, a small chuckle, but it sounded happy. "I always wanted to come back to your compound."

Korra smiled, a blush creeping onto her cheeks. "Why? Didn't you feel as trapped as I did?"

"Maybe. But I was trapped with you."

Her blush spread across her face as she focused on a spot on the floor. "I had no idea you felt that way about me." She murmured. Back in the South Pole he had always treated her as a pal, and had never been afraid to hit her during practice.

Lu Ten winked, "That's because I never told you."

Korra sighed, looking up to meet his eyes. She hopped off of the counter, placing her hands on his chest.

"Lu Ten, I don't know if I can do this right now. Airbending training is really intense, and I don't want to hurt you."

The older boy smiled sadly, but nodded. "Then I'll wait. But don't worry, I'm not giving up on you just yet." He leaned down to kiss her on the cheek; letting his lips hover over her skin for a few seconds.

Korra closed her eyes and found herself leaning into his touch, smiling. When she opened her eyes he was back leaning against the counter, eating the remainder of his breakfast.

"Hey," Korra said slowly, her eyes lighting up. "I have an idea!"

"What kind of idea?" Lu Ten asked, raising an eyebrow. He remembered her crazy ideas from their time together in the South Pole, and he knew whatever this was, it would probably get them in a bunch of trouble.

"A good idea." She said, laughing. "Tell Asami, Bolin, and Mako to meet us at the dock in one hour!"

Lu Ten was still shaking his head as Korra bound out of the kitchen, her laugh floating through the rooms.

* * *

"Everyone ready?" Korra asked as she joined her friends at the end of the dock. She had showered and changed into her regular clothes, and as she approached the group she saw that Mako had done the same.

Asami raised a delicate eyebrow, scrutinizing the Avatar. "What exactly are we doing, Korra?"

"We're ditching training, and going into town!"

Mako was instantly shaking his head. "No way, Korra. Master Zuko will have my head and then kill me in the Spirit World if I miss any of his sessions." He glared at her. "You of all people should know that."

Korra scoffed. "I've done this before. Sure, he'll be mad, but he'll just have to get over it."

Lu Ten smiled, clasping a hand onto her shoulder. "She's right," he said to their friends. "Grandfather knows how to have a good time. Even if he does come off as stoic all the time."

Bolin grabbed Mako's shoulders. "Come on, big bro. We could use a little fun, we haven't done anything exciting since Probending!"

Mako sighed, but Korra watched as his face softened. "Alright." He never was able to say no to his brother.

"Let's go!" Korra shouted, laughing as she dove into the bay. As she surfaced, she noticed that the rest of the group hadn't moved. "What? Suddenly decided you don't want to go?" she pouted.

"Not all of us are water animals, Korra." Asami said, trying her hardest to hide her giggles.

Korra grabbed Lu Ten's hand to help pull herself out of the water. "Fine. We'll take the Ferry."

The trip was faster than usual, mostly because Korra used her Waterbending out of impatience, and the group finally seemed excited as they docked in Republic City. Even Mako was smiling and laughing at jokes being passed around.

"Where should we go?" Bolin asked, as Mako tied the boat to the dock.

Asami shrugged. "We could go shopping," she winked casually at Korra.

Korra made a gagging face. "No. Never."

"I've always wanted to see the Probending arena," Lu Ten said.

Mako looked angry. "Yeah, well, that's not going to happen."

"Why not?"

"Amon destroyed it after the Championship." Asami said, wrapping her arms around Mako's waist. He was glaring at a point on the ground, clearly not happy talking about his old home.

Lu Ten looked thoughtful. "Still wouldn't mind seeing it, though."

Korra rolled her eyes. "Fine. Let's go see it, and then Mako can choose what we do afterwards." Mako looked surprised, but nodded.

Although Mako walked at a painstakingly slow pace, the friends eventually made it to the sidewalk across from the arena. Mako and Bolin stood a little ways away from the girls, and Lu Ten stood in front of them.

"It looks like it would have been amazing to play there." Lu Ten said, and Korra realized that he was awestruck. He may have been the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation, but that didn't mean he had experienced everything the world had to offer.

Bolin laughed sadly. "It was even more amazing to live there."

"You guys lived-" He broke off as Asami put her hand on his shoulder. She shook her head, a silent warning to drop the subject.

He raised an eyebrow, but didn't press the matter.

"Let's get something to eat." Mako said, looking away from the arena.

Bolin laughed loudly, rubbing his stomach. "I'm starved!"

"That's a shock," Asami said, and both the girls laughed.

"Hey you! Get back here! You can't do something like that!" A shrill voice yelled from across the street. Korra turned around to see a young girl sprinting through the streets, expertly dodging the Satomobiles as a few Metalbender Cops tried to chase her.

She quickly approached the group, and Korra jumped in front of her, but she twirled on her foot around the Avatar and continued on her way. "Hey!" Korra shouted.

Bolin ran into the street, pushing his arms in front of his body. The ground below the girl shook, and attached itself to her foot. She stumbled, but managed to keep herself from falling.

He turned around to glare at the group, her dark hair falling in front of her bright green eyes. Suddenly, her foot was free as she turned around again.

"She's an Earthbender!" Korra yelled to no one in particular. "Bolin, what are you doing?" She cried as the boy ran after the unknown girl.

He used his Earthbending to trip her up again, but before she could catch her footing this time, he launched himself onto her legs, sending them both crashing to the ground.

"Get off!" She yelled, struggling under his weight.

Bolin didn't answer, but held onto her arm as he stood up. She jerked her elbow free from his grasp, but Mako grabbed her arms and pinned them behind her back as she tried to run past.

"Ugh, let me go!" She cried, trying desperately to break free. When Mako's grip didn't relent upon her arms, she finally let out a dejected sigh.

Korra, Asami, and Lu Ten jogged to where the brother's stood jut as the Metalbending Cops caught up. "Thanks, Korra." The head Metalbending cop of the group said, and she flashed him a grin.

"Who is this?" Bolin asked, gesturing towards the girl.

The head cop sighed. "We don't know. She's been terrorizing the city for a few weeks, but we haven't been able to catch her until now."

"I haven't terrorized anybody!" She shouted, struggling against Mako's chest.

"Quiet you! She's been attacking benders all around the city. We think she's a part of the Equalists, but we haven't gotten enough information." The Cop said, shaking his head.

Asami put her hand up before biting her lip in concentration. "She can't be an Equalist," she said, slowly, "If she's an Earthbender."

All of the Metalbender's looked confused. "She's a bender?" One asked.

"I have a name!" She yelled, but everyone ignored her.

"If she's a bender, then why is she attacking other benders?" another of the cops asked.

The girl sighed, clearly annoyed at being ignored. Korra cleared her throat, and when the others finally stopped talking, she gestured back at the girl.

"My name is Ainya." She said after she stopped struggling. "And I only attack benders who are suppressing non-benders."

"Exactly like Amon!"

Ainya glared at the cop until he looked away in embarrassment. "I'm just trying to help. Not all non-benders are Equalists, so they should be protected too!"

One of the cops stepped forward, pointing a finger at Ainya. "We _are_ protecting them, but the benders are under attack!"

"It doesn't matter. This city is useless. Let me go. I want to go home." Ainya said, slumping against Mako's arms. The Firebender looked confused as he glanced at the circle around them. Korra nodded, and he released the girl.

Ainya almost fell to the ground in her sudden release, but when she realized she was free, she stood as tall as she could. She was almost all tall as Bolin.

"Where are you from?" Bolin asked, holding his hands up in surrender when she turned to glare at him.

"Kyoshi Island." Ainya answered proudly. "I'm one of the Kyoshi Warriors there."

Lu Ten looked confused as he said, "I thought all of those warriors were non-benders."

Ainya shrugged. "Things have changed in the last seventy years. My grandmother used to tell me about her time as a Kyoshi Warrior. I've only ever wanted to be as successful as her. But every time I tried to protect someone here, one of those cops would come and ruin it," she jabbed a thumb at the Metalbending Cops.

"Who was your grandmother?" Korra asked quietly.

"Suki."

Lu Ten's face broke into a huge grin as he ran forward and scooped Ainya into a huge hug.

"What are you doing?" she gasped, shoving against his shoulders. Despite being angry, she laughed a little.

Lu Ten put her down, but ruffled her dark hair. "We're practically family. Zuko is my grandfather."

Ainya grinned, but her smile fell when she remembered her situation. "My mother always disapproved of my becoming a Kyoshi Warrior." She said, sadly. "She believed it would upset people, me being an Earthbender and all, but strangely enough, it actually brought in new recruits."

"So you came here, because you wanted to do something large scale." Korra said, putting her hands on her hips. "You had always protected your island, and when news of Republic City reached you, you wanted to protect it as well."

Ainya smiled. "Correct, Avatar." Korra gasped, but the girl shrugged. Korra smiled softly; apparently she wasn't as low key as she had thought.

Korra met Mako's eyes. "Sounds like another person I know," she said as he matched her smile.

"Can't you let her off the hook?" Bolin asked the cops. "She was only trying to protect some non-benders."

The head cop seemed to contemplate this, but he looked uncomfortable. "That may be the case, but she still smashed someone's shop."

"What if I told you," Korra said slowly, walking to stand directly in front of the head cop. She placed her hand on the front of his armor, never breaking eye contact. "That Councilman Tenzin will cover all charges if you let her go?"

Asami choked back a laugh as Bolin's eyes widened in confusion. Lu Ten and Mako exchanged raised eyebrows.

The Metalbending cop's cheeks turned pink, but Korra didn't move. She put her other hand on his shoulder before biting her lip. "Please?"

He sighed, looking away from her. "Fine. But she isn't allowed to do anymore vigilante justice." He quickly stepped out of her embrace to the other cops, and they all rounded the corner to disappear.

"Wha-What was that?" Bolin asked as Asami and Korra high-fived.

Asami laughed. "Didn't know you had that in you."

"A girl's got to have her secret weapons," Korra said, winking.

Ainya looked uncomfortable in the middle of the group, and she cleared her throat loudly. "Thanks for the help, but I really need to go now. I promised a few non-benders that I would… help them with a problem."

Korra narrowed her eyes at the girl. "Nothing illegal. I don't think I can bail you out a second time."

"Please," Ainya scoffed, "I'm almost seventeen. I can take care of myself." She smiled at the group one last time before turning to make her way down the street.

"Ainya, wait!" Bolin called, jogging after her.

Mako smirked, a cocky look on his face that had been curiously absent for a while. "I guess Bolin's trying to get himself another fangirl."

Asami hit him on the shoulder. "Stop it," she said, but she was laughing.

"As long as he doesn't hate me," Korra said. Asami and Lu Ten looked confused, but Mako looked away knowingly. Even though Bolin couldn't remember his confession, it still hurt the two teenagers whenever they thought about it.

"What was that all about?" Lu Ten asked as Bolin rejoined the group.

Bolin blushed. "That? Oh, it was nothing, I just wanted to say goodbye." He stammered, a goofy smile on his face.

"Sure," Asami drawled, "What goodbye takes that long, and needs to be done so far away?"

"My kind of goodbyes." Bolin said.

* * *

"You WHAT!" Tenzin yelled at dinner that night.

Zuko had laughed off their adventure from that day, saying he was glad the Firebender had skipped training if he ran into one of his old friend's granddaughter.

Tenzin, on the other hand, had huffed and grumbled about how Korra was never going to master Airbending if she kept leaving practices.

He had lost it when they told him about covering Ainya's charges.

And although they finally got him to calm down and agree to it, Mako and Korra couldn't help but imitate his reaction face whenever they saw each other.

* * *

"_Alright. You sound like a pretty cool guy. It's a date."_

The words to Ainya's acceptance played on repeat in Bolin's head as he tried to fall asleep that night.

He had run to her when she was leaving because there was something about her that he didn't want to have disappeared after such a short time.

It was a long shot, but he had asked her on a date.

And much to Bolin's shock, she had agreed.

Now Bolin would have a chance to get to know her better, and get to know what it was about her that made him feel so intrigued.

Maybe it was her wild personality, or maybe it was the way that she vehemently contradicted everything the Metalbender Cops had said. But whatever it was, he was excited to learn more about it.

He may not be completely over Korra yet, but when a girl like Ainya accepted him, Bolin couldn't help but feel wanted.

Loved.

* * *

**A/N: **I'm really bad with names. But either way, here's the next installment. Let me know what you think! :D


	7. Damages

**A/N:** For those of you wondering what Lu Ten looks like, I'll tell you right now:

He's 18, and taller than Bolin, but not as tall as Mako. So he's taller than the shrimp that is Korra, but it's not the same height difference between her and Mako.

His hair is black, and it's about as long as Zuko's is at the middle of season 3.

He's light skinned, (not labeling 'white' or any other color because I don't want anyone getting offended), and has the same golden eyes as any Firebender.

His face isn't round, but it isn't really pointed. His nose is cute, and his lips are kinda thin. But not weirdly thin.

He's easy going, and doesn't like to argue, but if you insult or offend someone close to him, he can get pretty angry.

When he first got to the city he wore his traditional Fire Nation Royal Prince outfit, but he's traded it for regular Fire Nation garb since his stay in the city became prolonged.

He won't wear his Fire Nation Prince topknot hair thingy because he doesn't want to be treated differently.

He used to travel with his mom when she first became Fire Lady, but since his stay at the Southern Water Tribe compound, he's stayed in the Fire Nation.

…Some of that wasn't physical stuff. Oh. Well. That's about it. If you have any more questions, just leave them in the comments!

* * *

"No way," Korra said, laughing as she shoved Lu Ten's shoulder. "I could still beat you in a spar."

The boy laughed, kicking his heels up to rest on a rock in front of him. "The last time we fought was back in the Southern Water Tribe. I've mastered Fire now."

"So have I."

"You may be the Avatar, but I'm definitely more skilled than you."

Korra rolled her eyes, throwing her arms behind her head as she leaned back against the rock. "You're forgetting one very important thing, Lu Ten." He raised an eyebrow at her, a smirk playing at the edge of his lips. "I'm the Avatar."

"Is that it?" he asked, trying to contain his laughter.

It was midmorning, and Korra had recently finished a session with Tenzin. It hadn't ended well, mostly because Korra had yelled about how useless Airbending was, and then she had stalked out of practice before it was over. Mako and Zuko had watched her leave curiously, while Tenzin just ignored it, used to her behavior.

Korra had stomped through the trees for a while until she found her friend leaning against the rocks. Wordlessly, she had joined him. And as she told him about the useless lessons, he had brought up her most embarrassing sparring moments.

Now, he just thought he could still beat her in a spar.

"What more do I need?" She retaliated, pouting a little. He laughed and ruffled her hair.

She huffed and punched him lightly in the arm, and he held up his hands in surrender. She smirked, feeling pretty smug about her abilities, when he shot a flame towards her face.

Korra gasped, scuttling backwards to get out of the way. "Fine. If that's the way you want it." She said, throwing a couple of punches towards her friend.

They were both on their feet now, throwing flames at each other. The small rocks made it difficult to keep their balance, but the grass was plentiful enough to get their footing back.

Lu Ten seemed to be getting an advantage when Korra wasn't able to do anything but defend for a few shots. He was getting closer to her, so Korra did the only thing that that seemed reasonable.

She used Earthbending.

Korra watched his feet as he advanced towards her. She defended his attacks, but her mind was too busy strategizing to fire anything back at him. He didn't notice, a cocky grin stretched across his face as he gained more ground. Finally, his foot was lowering to a rock, and Korra waited until the second his foot would make contact. When it did, she flicked her wrist, sending Lu Ten's foot out from under him.

Lu Ten's eyes widened in recognition as he started to stumble. He grabbed onto Korra's arms to try and regain his balance, but she wasn't ready for it, and he started to bring him down with her.

He fell onto his back, letting out a quiet cry of pain. Korra landed on her butt next to him, rubbing her arms where his fingers had dug in while he was trying to steady himself.

She sat there, unsure of what to say; especially since it was her fault he had fallen, until his eyelids lifted and his golden eyes met her blue ones.

Korra frowned, biting her lip. There was no anger in Lu Ten's eyes, and Korra couldn't understand why. "You're not mad?" she asked, "But I cheated, and I hurt you."

Suddenly he laughed, the loud, booming sound echoing around the trees. "Oh, come on, Korra. Like I couldn't expect you to cheat? You're you." He propped himself up on his elbows. "And you didn't hurt me, it was this small pebble I fell on," he said, shaking his head.

Relief flooded Korra's expression. She had been worried that he would be angry with her. Sure they had given each other scratches and bruises when they had sparred, but that had been three years ago. Korra knew him better now, and she knew that she never wanted to hurt him unintentionally.

"That's a relief," she replied, matching Lu Ten's grin.

He turned to his side, his back facing her as he started to get up. "I don't know why you were so worried, Avatar. It's not like you haven't bruised me before."

But Korra couldn't focus on his words. His red tunic had ripped slightly where the rock had cut into the fabric, and she could barely make out some sort of scar, or scrape or something.

The Avatar stood at the same time that he finally did, pouting as he met her eyes.

"What?" he asked, his brows furrowing in confusion.

Korra stepped deliberately up to him, grabbing the bottom of his shirt. She started trying to get it off, and Lu Ten laughed. "Korra, I thought you didn't like me like that." He winked down at her, but his expression grew serious at the sight of her glare.

"Korra, what's wrong?" she didn't answer him; instead she pulled his shirt over his head, and then walked behind him to look at his back.

What she saw made her gasp. There was a bright scar under Lu Ten's right shoulder blade. It looked almost like a Spider Rat web, but it had a distinct shape that Korra recognized from the pictures during her training. It couldn't have been any larger than the size of her palm.

She rested her hand on it lightly, and she heard Lu Ten sigh with recognition. "What happened to you?" she asked, and he turned around to face her.

Lu Ten laughed nervously, rubbing at the back of his neck. "My first Firebending master got angry with me when I couldn't make my own lightening right away, so he fired some at me when I wasn't looking. I think he was hoping I would redirect it under pressure. Damn near killed me, though. Father banished him, and spent weeks searching for a new master. My mother had tried to prevent me from learning anymore, but I was already sixteen. I was already close to being a master." He shrugged. "It's not that big of a deal, Korra."

Korra frowned at him. "Didn't Zuko teach you how to redirect lightening?"

"Yeah, but when you're shot at from behind, without any knowledge of it, it's pretty hard to redirect that lightening. I can redirect it now, but I still haven's managed to make my own." He touched her chin, bringing her face up until her gaze met his. "I'm fine Korra, it didn't kill me."

"It could have," she muttered, scowling.

Lu Ten pulled her into his embrace, wrapping his arms around her. Korra was hyperaware of his bare chest, but at that moment she didn't care. She had no idea she almost lost him after he left the South Pole.

She might never have known.

"Grandson, I know you're out there! Just because I'm training the Firebender doesn't mean you don't need to brush up on your skills!"

Lu Ten cringed. "That means I'm late. See you around, Avatar." He grabbed his tunic from her hands and turned to run back to the training grounds, but stopped and looked back at Korra. He leaned down to kiss her on the cheek, smiling at her before taking off through the trees.

Korra rolled her eyes, but couldn't keep the smile from her face.

She still wasn't completely over Mako, and seeing all of his PDA's with Asami sure wasn't helping her heart heal, but spending time with Lu Ten was effortless. Sure, she and Mako could get along really well when no one else was around, but she and Lu Ten would make jokes and play around- even in public.

The young girl sighed. Why couldn't she be stronger? If she could only manage her feelings without dragging people down with her, then things for everyone would be so much better.

Korra found herself back in her bedroom, suddenly extremely tired after her morning session with Tenzin. She kicked off her boots, and pulled her hair bands out after pulling off her tank top. She fell on her back onto her bed, and sleep overcame her easily.

She was going to miss her afternoon session, but right now a nap was a lot more enticing.

* * *

"Korra, can you come to the dock for a moment?" Korra groaned and turned over on her bed when she heard Pema's voice through her door.

"I'll be out in a minute," she yelled back groggily.

Korra rolled out of bed a minute later and put her clothes on. She pulled her hair back and stepped out of her room towards the dock. Pema and Tenzin were standing at the edge, and the Airbabies were standing at their feet.

It was dark now, and Korra quickly realized she must have slept through dinner. Tenzin glared at her, and she smiled back tentatively. She missed two sessions.

Korra rubbed her eyes again before realizing that _everyone_ was out on the docks, even Oogie. "What's going on?"

"We're going into the city, can you babysit the children?" Pema asked, putting a sleeping Meelo into her arms.

Korra quickly tried to adjust her arms, "Wait, but whose going?"

"Everyone except Mako." Tenzin said. "And you."

Korra groaned as Jinora and Ikki attached themselves to her legs. "Is this because I missed those sessions?"

"Maybe."

Everyone loaded himself or herself onto Oogie's saddle, and Bolin seemed a whole lot more excited than everyone else. "Why isn't Mako going?" Korra yelled up to the group.

Asami shrugged lightly. "He said he was tired after all of his training. You know, the three sessions?" She laughed at the Avatar's expense.

Korra pouted. "What am I supposed to do with these guys?"

"Just make sure they get to bed before too late. Oh, and Meelo needs a bath!" Pema called back as Oogie took off towards Republic City. Korra could hear Lu Ten laughing for a good minute.

Korra sighed, but put Meelo down when he started screaming in her ear. "I have an idea," she said, bending down to kneel in front of the children. "Why don't we go bother Mako?" Ikki's eyes lit up, and she took Korra's hand to lead her back to the Temple.

They found Mako in his room in the boy's dormitories. He was leaning on his bed, his right arm behind his head, the other leaning on a pillow. It was wrapped with gauze around the bicep.

"Ikki wait!" Korra called, causing Mako's eyes to shoot open. But the young Airbender didn't listen, and instead she shot herself onto Mako's bed.

Mako groaned in pain with the sudden jostling of his bed, but he hid it with a smile directed towards the girl.

Ikki immediately started rattling off her questions, "Mako, why didn't you go to the city? Were you not invited? Are you hurt? Were you training this morning? Can we play with Pabu? Where's Naga? Why are you glaring at me? Ah!"

Ikki's words quickly died off as Mako grabbed her around the waist and started to tickle her. "Mako! Stop it!" Ikki laughed, squirming in his arms.

She finally managed to worm her way out of his grasp, and quickly ran behind Korra's legs. "Korra," she whined, "Mako tickled me!"

"I saw that."

Mako groaned clutching at his arm as he sat up. "What's going on?"

Korra sighed. "Everyone left for the city. I'm on babysitting duty."

He raised an eyebrow, standing slowly. It was then that Korra realized that he wasn't wearing a shirt. She bit her lip, trying her hardest to keep a blush from spreading to her cheeks. "So why are you unleashing them on me?"

"If I'm on babysitting duty, so are you."

He laughed, and quickly wrestled his shirt from Meelo's grasp. The male Airbender pouted, and Mako swung him up to sit on his shoulders. "Where'd Jinora go?" he asked.

Korra shrugged. "Probably to read somewhere." She turned around, nearly kicking Ikki over in the process.

"Korra!" She whined. "I want Lychee Juice!"

"Didn't you have some with dinner?" Korra asked, since it was usually the only thing the girl drank.

Ikki pulled on Korra's hand, dragging her through the hallways. "But I want more!" she yelled as they entered the kitchen.

Korra grabbed a glass and poured some juice in it, handing it to the young girl. Jinora walked into the room, took one look at the group, and walked right back out.

Mako tapped her shoulder, but immediately put his hand out to catch Meelo before he fell. "Isn't she only allowed one glass a day?"

Korra scoffed. "How much trouble could one more glass be? No, Ikki, stop it!" Korra grabbed the girl's arm, taking the carton of Lychee Juice from her other hand. "You can't drink from the carton!"

Ikki pouted. "You're no fun!"

Mako laughed from behind her. She turned around to glare at him, and he tried to hide it as a cough.

"Ikki, you know the rules. I already let you have too much with that second glass." Pabu ran through the kitchen just as the young girl opened her mouth to speak.

But the Fire Ferret was too much of a distraction, and Ikki squealed as she chased the creature from the room.

Korra started looking through the kitchen for the leftovers from dinner. When she finally found them, she started eating happily, not bothering to fix herself a plate. Mako raised his eyebrows at her, but smiled while Meelo continued to yell about something.

"I could heal your arm, you know." Korra said after she had put all of the food away.

He shrugged, trying to hide his bad arm behind his back while trying to keep a steady hold on Meelo at the same time. "It's not that bad, Korra."

She narrowed her eyes at him, and was about to tell him to stop trying to be inhumanly strong, but Meelo interrupted her.

"Momma said I need a bath!" he yelled, seeming too happy for a young boy who needed to bathe.

"I think that's your job." Mako said, handing Korra the child.

She pouted. "No way you're getting out of this, cool guy."

"I'm not even supposed to be babysitting!"

Korra shrugged. "That's too bad." She put Meelo on the ground, knowing the boy would jump right back to Mako. Meelo attached himself to the older boy's leg.

Mako sighed, "Fine."

They made their way to the bathroom, and Korra turned on the tap to start filling the tub. Mako was wrestling Meelo on the counter to try to get him out of the dirty clothes. "Hold still you midget!" He cried in exasperation, sighing as Meelo just laughed.

"Here, give him to me." Korra said, taking the boy from Mako's hands. She tickled his bare stomach for a moment, and when he was distracted, she dunked him into the bathtub.

"Hey! You cheated!" Meelo said, shaking out his hair.

"I don't remember you laying out any rules." Korra said, laughing as she started to wash his hair.

He kept trying to squirm out of her hands, but she managed to wash him down pretty quickly. She finally used the tap to rinse him off before pulling him out of the tub. He shook his hair out again, and she wrapped him in a towel.

"What?" Korra asked, picking up Meelo and meeting Mako's glance.

The Firebender was leaning against the door, his arms crossed with a small smile on his face. "I didn't know you were so good with kids."

"Don't try to sweet talk me," Korra said, laughing. "You didn't even help."

"I kept him in the room."

"Great, now if only you did something helpful."

Mako pouted, and Korra laughed as she put down the Airbender. "Alright I'm sorry. Thanks so much for your nonexistent help, Mako."

He rolled his eyes and held his hand out towards the boy. "Come on, Meelo. Let's get you dressed."

"No way!" Meelo shouted, and he ran through Mako's legs, pulled the door open, and took off down the hallway. "I'm free!"

"Meelo!" Korra shouted, brushing past Mako to the hall. She nearly tripped on something, and she realized that it was Meelo's towel. "Great," she groaned, turning around to face Mako, who had come out of the bathroom after her. "Now he's running naked around the Temple."

"The Acolytes are going to love that." Mako said, and Korra glared at him.

"Come on!" she urged, grabbing at his hand. "We need to find him."

"I'll go this way," Mako said, pointing behind him. "And you go that way." And with that, he took his hand from hers and walked away.

Korra cupped her hands around her mouth, "That doesn't look very urgent!" He raised his hand back at her as he rounded the corner. Korra picked up the towel at her feet and started running through the hall.

"Meelo!" she called out, glancing around each of the corners she passed. "Jinora, have you seen your brother?" Korra asked, passing the training grounds. The girl shook her head, never lifting her eyes from her book, and Korra continued to run through the grounds.

Korra came back to the house, running into the kitchen. "Ikki! Have you seen Meelo?" Korra rubbed the back of her neck when she realized that Ikki was asleep on the kitchen table. "Guess not."

"Hey, come here you!" Korra heard Mako shout from somewhere close by.

"Mako!" Korra ran through the kitchen door towards the yelling she heard. She found Mako chasing Meelo around a couch in the living room, trying to gain an advantage on the young boy.

Meelo hadn't noticed her yet, so Korra waited in the doorway. Meelo made a sharp turn and started running towards the door, and Korra tackled him to the ground, making sure not to crush him. Unfortunately Mako had also tried to tackle him, and he ended up slamming the shoulder of his bad arm into her forearm, and landed on his back beside her.

Korra quickly wrapped the Airbender in his towel before turning her head to the side. Mako was close, like _really _close. He hadn't moved after he had fallen, although his hand was clutching at his bad arm, and when he turned his heat towards her, their faces were really close.

His golden eyes seemed to search her blue ones, as if he were trying to find the answer to something in them.

His gaze was too intense. It caused her cheeks to flush and made her remember her morning with Lu Ten. She looked away and stood up, tucking Meelo's towel around his waist a little more securely.

"No fair!" Meelo yelled, breaking the tension as he squirmed in her arms.

Mako stood from the ground, and tried to hide his groan of pain while he took the writhing Meelo from her. "Thanks."

"I had no idea you were so bad with kids," Korra said, crossing her arms over her chest, and smiling broadly.

He glared at her, but quickly smiled instead. "I'm not. Meelo's just a devil child."

"Whatever." She paused for a moment, watching as he cringed when Meelo's weight shifted to his bad arm. "Mako, I can help you with your pain. Zuko trained me, too, you know. You don't have to suffer all by yourself." Korra said, resting her hand on the gauze. He hissed in pain, and recoiled slightly, causing her to drop her hand.

He dropped her gaze and murmured, "No, thanks."

"Does Asami know?"

Mako sighed. "No. If she saw this, she probably wouldn't want me to train anymore." He scoffed slightly, and Korra was surprised to see anger in his eyes. "Even though she trains all of the time."

Korra put a hand on his shoulder, "Mako, is something going on between you and Asami?"

His eyes widened in shock, all evidence of anger removed from their depths. "What gave you that idea?"

"Nevermind. Forget I said anything, okay?" Mako still looked confused, but he nodded.

"Korra?" Ikki walked into the living room, rubbing her eyes. "What happened?"

Korra picked her up before bringing her to sit in front of one of the couches. "Nothing, your brother was just being annoying." Ikki laughed as she leaned against the couch. Korra sat next to her, putting her arm behind Ikki's head.

Mako sat down on Ikki's other side, Meelo still in his arms. It looked like the young boy had tired himself out running around the house.

"I was serious, though, back there in the bathroom." Mako said after a minute. Pabu scurried into the room, running up Mako's arm before settling himself around the boy's neck.

"About what?" Korra asked, smiling as Ikki leaned her head against her shoulder.

"You are really good with kids. Before that, I had only seen you running after the kids when they made fun of you." He smiled slightly at her. "That was a whole new side of you."

Korra laughed, brushing a few strands of hair from Ikki's face. "There's a lot you don't know about me."

"Mako? Korra? Are you guys in here?" Jinora poked her head out from behind the door, and when she saw that everyone was in the room, she sat down on the couch they were sitting in front of.

Meelo started to snore lightly, his head lolling back in Mako's arms. Korra gaped at the scene.

"How'd you do that?" she asked in wonder.

Mako raised his eyebrows in confusion. "Do what?"

"He _never_ falls asleep that easily. Well, except in meditation."

Mako smiled a little, looking down at Meelo's sleeping form. "I guess I'm not that bad with kids after all."

Ikki kicked her legs out between Mako and Korra's and rested her head on her hands in Korra's lap. Korra played with the young girl's hair, smiling as she heard Ikki's breathing slow down.

"I don't know what they did today to make themselves so tired, but I'm not complaining." Korra said, chuckling to herself. "I bet you're happy, huh Jinora?" but the eldest Airbender didn't reply. Korra turned her head to look at the girl, and found her asleep, sprawled out on the couch.

Mako shook his head, a smile ever present on his face. "I wouldn't know either. I was training all day," he sent her a knowing look, and she stuck her tongue out at him. "But this was a lot easier than I thought it would be."

"Are you complaining?"

"No." Mako said immediately, "I'm just saying, that the worst we had to deal with was Ikki chasing Pabu, and Meelo running around naked. All in all, I'd say it was a pretty successful night."

Korra smiled with him, "If I had known they were going to fall asleep this easily, I would have turned on the radio for us." He chuckled with her for a moment.

Companionable silence enveloped the group, but Korra wanted to ask the Firebender something. It had been on her mind since she had heard the report about the Arena's reconstruction.

"Mako, are you going to move back to the arena when the construction is done?" Korra asked suddenly, breaking the silence.

"What?"

Korra took a deep breath the calm her nerves. "I said-"

"No, no I heard what you said. Why are you asking me that?"

She sighed, looking at a piece of fuzz on the carpet to avoid his eyes. "I heard a report about the Arena, and I couldn't help but wonder what you and Bolin were going to do."

"Korra, you don't have to worry about that. The Arena won't be finished for months. We can work it out when the time comes closer." Mako said, and she finally met his gaze.

"That doesn't answer my question."

Mako sighed, silent for a moment. "I don't know, okay? The Arena was our home for almost a year, the longest since our time in the streets. And I don't want to intrude on Tenzin and Pema any more than is necessary."

Korra thought about that for a moment before saying. "What about Asami?"

"I can't control where she lives," he said, shrugging around Meelo. "She's got the finances to stay wherever she wants. I couldn't force her to live with me at the Arena."

Korra opened her mouth to ask if he even wanted to leave the island, but Mako interrupted her. "How about we deal with living arrangements when it's absolutely dire. Deal? I'm not leaving you, Korra."

"Deal," Korra said, yawning as she tried to ignore the warmth that spread through her.

She heard Mako laugh, and she raised an eyebrow at him. "How can you still be tired after sleeping all day?"

"How can you not be tired after training all day?" Korra asked, ignoring his question.

He shrugged, smiling at her. "I guess being the Avatar is just too much to handle. Sleeping all the time, and then taking care of some children. Draining."

Korra smiled a little, leaning her head on his shoulder after punching him in his good shoulder. "I guess you're right." She said, closing her eyes.

* * *

"Mako?"

"Korra?"

The Avatar's eyes shot open, and she was about to jump into a fighting stance when she remembered Ikki on her lap.

"Who's there?" she called out groggily.

Asami's soft laughter filled the room. "It's just us."

"Yeah, Avatar, don't forget your friends so quickly." Lu Ten's voice said.

"Oh, goodness what happened here?" She heard Pema ask.

Korra pulled Ikki into her arms, and saw Mako handing the still towel-clad Meelo over to Pema. "Just babysitting. What time is it?" he asked lazily.

"Late." Pema replied. "You should get some sleep. Go to bed." She turned to face Asami, Bolin, and Lu Ten. "_All _of you."

Tenzin picked up Ikki and Jinora, and he and his wife exited through the opposite doorway.

"Bro, I gotta talk to you," Bolin said hurriedly, pulling Mako to his feet and dragging him to the door.

"Good night, Asami." Mako said as they reached her. She pulled him in for a quick kiss, returning the phrase before leaving the room.

Lu Ten smirked at Korra. "Good night, sweetheart." He drawled in an overdramatic voice, leaning down to place a sloppy kiss on her cheek.

"Ew, Lu Ten!" Korra laughed, pushing him away from her. "You _know_ I hate gooey stuff."

"Exactly," he said, winking at her. His laughter could still be heard through the door when he left for the kitchen.

Bolin tugged on his brother's arm again. "Bro, this is important! Night Korra!"

"Wait, can I hear what's going on?" Korra asked. They were best friends, after all.

Mako shook his head, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "No. Brother stuff."

"That's not fair!" Korra cried, crossing her arms as she pouted.

Mako shrugged, "Get over it."

Korra glared at him. "What's your problem?"

He narrowed his eyes at her. Bolin looked worriedly back and forth between the two of them. He looked nervous, as if the news he had was urgent, or he was afraid of the tension between the two teens.

"I don't have a problem."

Korra threw her hands up, pointing a finger to his chest. "Anytime Lu Ten comes near me, you look like you're ready to rip his head off. Then you see him kiss me, something that could be completely friendly, and you're suddenly cold to me again." Korra crossed her arms, suddenly exhausted. "I'm just tired of it."

Mako's expression softened. "Korra, I-"

"Mako, I don't have time to wait on this, you can deal with your problems later." Bolin grabbed at his brother's good arm, dragging him through the doorway.

"I'm sorry," Mako mouthed as his face disappeared into the kitchen. Korra didn't know if he was apologizing for how cold he had been a few minutes before, or for how Bolin was interrupting them, but Korra knew that she would accept the apology no matter what.

* * *

Korra snuck down the hallway of the boy's dormitory. There was no way she wasn't hearing this news that Bolin so anxiously needed to tell.

She got to the door of Bolin's bedroom, where she heard the brother's voices coming from. She crouched down to look through the tiny keyhole. She could see Bolin sitting on his bed, and through her peripheral vision she could see Mako leaning against the wall at the base of the bed.

"…How's your leg?"

"Fine, Mako."

"Is it healing alright?"

"Perfectly. Look Mako, I really need to tell you that-"

"How was your date?"

Korra knew he was giving his brother a cocky, knowing smile, but she couldn't see it.

Bolin stuttered, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Mako laughed, and for a moment, Korra envied the scene she saw before her. They had such an easy relationship. No matter what, they were brothers, and even though she screwed things up, they would always understand each other.

"Come on, bro." Mako said, crossing his arms. "You chased that Ainya girl after she left. Don't pretend like we all didn't see it."

Bolin looked defeated, but his face quickly broke into a smile. "You didn't tell anyone, did you?"

Mako shook his head. "No, but I'm pretty sure anyone who went to the city with you caught on."

There was a slight pause before Bolin said, "You didn't tell Korra?"

The Avatar stiffened. She should leave. These were Bolin's feelings, and she didn't want to hurt him any more than she already had. But the promise of urgent news was enough to keep Korra posted outside the door.

"Not my place to tell her, Bo." Bolin nodded, and Korra watched as a serious expression replaced his goofy grin. "What did you need to tell me?"

"Ainya and I went to a fountain at the end of the date, you know, to look at the sky and stuff." He coughed for a moment, as if he were embarrassed, but when he didn't meet any resistance from his brother, he continued, "Anyway, I heard some guys behind us in some alley. Normally I would have ignored it, but they mentioned you."

"Me?" Mako asked.

Bolin nodded. "Yeah, so I turned my head to try to see if I knew them. I couldn't recognize their faces, but the clothing looked really similar."

Mako's arms tensed slightly. "What do you mean by similar?"

"They looked like the civilian disguises the Triple Threats have." Bolin nodded to his brother. "You know, the clothes you had to wear when you went on street missions." Mako nodded in understanding.

Street missions? What else didn't she know about their past?

"And they were mentioning me?"

Bolin didn't speak for a minute, but his face was scrunched with concentration, as if he was trying to find the right words. "They said your name a lot, and then one of them said, 'Boss says he knows too much, says it's time to end his knowledge.' What do you think that means?"

Mako had completely stiffened in Korra's peripherals. He didn't say anything for what felt like forever.

Finally, he broke the silence with a laugh. It was cold, and void of any emotion, but Bolin didn't seem to notice. "Probably just the guys who I always beat when we would have competitions to con people in the streets. I'm sure it's nothing, bro."

Bolin nodded, a look of relief washing onto his face. "Good. We always were the best conmen."

"That's for sure. Goodnight, Bolin."

"Night, Mako."

Mako walked to the door, and Korra scrambled back to hide in the shadows of the corridor. The Firebender walked out of his brother's room, turning towards his own. Korra expected him to open the door and turn inside, but Mako looked up and down the hallway before he walked right past his door.

Korra gasped, but began to follow him soundlessly as he walked out of the Temple and to the docks. She watched from behind a tree as he leaned down to start undoing the rope that kept the small boat tethered to the wood.

Finding a small bit of courage, Korra walked to the beginning of the dock, and stood with her hands on her hips.

"Mako. What are you doing?"

He froze, letting the rope drop as he stood up straight. His hands fell into his pockets, and he sighed. "Korra. Why am I not surprised that you're here?"

* * *

**A/N #2:** Whoops, this ended up about twice as long as it should have been, but i just had a lot of stuff that i wanted to write(:

Anyway, i apologize for my prolonged absence. I was at volleyball camp for 9 days, and when i got back a few days ago, i was too tired to think through the plot. But my mind finally decided on what it wanted in this chapter, and I finally had time to write it.

So ^^ there it is. Review? Let me know what you think. What's going on between Mako and the Triple Threats...? o.O ;D


	8. Safety

Korra walked until she was only a few feet away from the Firebender. He was staring at the ground, and she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

After what felt like an eternity of silence, Korra sighed. "Mako, where are you going?"

"Just out." He said, never looking up.

Korra rolled her eyes. "This late at night? I heard your conversation with Bolin. I know you're going to confront the Triad."

His head whipped up and he finally met her gaze. His golden eyes were angry, his eyebrows furrowed. "That was private, Korra. You shouldn't have listened in. I'm sure Bolin wouldn't be happy if he knew you heard."

"Please." Korra scoffed. "Like you really believed that I wouldn't eavesdrop."

Mako sighed. "Okay, fine. I didn't expect the news to stay hidden from you forever. But I didn't think you were going to follow me out here."

A light breeze whipped around them, and Korra silently cursed herself for not bringing her parka. Mako didn't seem to notice the chill, even though he was only wearing his white tank top. Korra rubbed her arms before stepping even closer to Mako, meeting his questioning glare easily.

"You can't go after them."

Mako shook his head. "You don't understand, Korra. I can't risk the Triad coming here to the island or hurting any of you. If I can get them to back off, then I can keep all of you safe." He shrugged. "Doesn't seem like a big problem."

Korra narrowed her eyes at him. "Bolin said that guy in the street mentioned that the boss wanted to end whatever knowledge you had. That you _knew too much_, Mako! To me, that doesn't sound like those guys are looking to compromise." Korra touched his bicep, resting her hand there. "You're going to get hurt, Mako."

He moved out of her grasp, instead ducking down to fiddle with the rope holding the boat to the dock. He untied it, throwing the rope onto the deck. The boat floated lazily, waiting for something to command it.

"You can't stop me, Korra." Mako finally whispered, almost silently. "I need to protect Bolin, and this is the only way I can."

"No," she said, grabbing his wrist to stop him from boarding the tiny vessel. "Please, Mako. Wait until another time; wait until we can all go with you. If you go alone, you're going to get hurt!"

Mako turned his head to meet her eyes. "No." He tugged his wrist from her hands gently, and placed his hands on her shoulders. "I need to do this now so it can be over. I don't want the Triad harboring a grudge on anyone I love just because I was too scared to confront them." He ducked his head down close to her, searching her piercing blue eyes.

Tears stung the back of Korra's eyes as she read his expression. He _had_ to do this. Not for himself, but for the people he loved. He really didn't want anyone getting involved, and he especially didn't want anyone to get hurt. Not for him.

He didn't want anyone talking the pain for his former actions.

Korra lunged forward, holding back a sob as she flung her arms around his neck. He was momentarily surprised, but his arms soon wound themselves around her waist.

"So do you understand why I have to do it?" he asked as they broke apart. His hands were back on her shoulders, and Korra angrily wiped at the few tears that had managed to escape.

"Yes." He breathed a sigh of relief, dropping his arms to his sides. He was turning to the boat when Korra grabbed his hand, locking it between both of hers. "But I still don't want you to go."

Mako sighed, looking back to her eyes. "There's nothing, Korra, nothing you can say that will make me change my mind." His voice was hard, and his tone told her there was no way she was going to keep him on this dock for much longer.

Korra's face fell. She had hoped, even the tiniest bit that something she would say would get through to him. "Then let me come with you!" now she was clutching at straws.

"No." Mako answered immediately. "It's too dangerous. I don't know how the Triad is going to react-"

"Exactly, Mako! You shouldn't be risking your life like this!" Korra cried, trying to get him to understand.

His eyes narrowed slightly. "Too dangerous for _you_, Korra. You're the Avatar. They might try to abuse that." Mako put his free hand on top of hers. "Please, just try to understand."

Mako swiftly pulled his hand from her grasp, taking hers in his hands immediately after, preventing her from clinging to him again.

"Mako, I swear if you get hurt because you won't let me come with you-"

The Firebender chuckled darkly. "Don't worry, Korra. You can yell at me all you want when I get back."

"If you get back." Korra muttered darkly.

"What's going on out here?" A new voice asked, and Korra used Mako's momentary distraction to grab his wrists.

He straightened slightly, cringing at being caught by another person. "Master Zuko, what brings you out here so late?"

The master bender walked quietly down the dock until he stood directly next to Mako and Korra. "I could ask you two the exact same thing." He said, taking in Korra's hands desperately clutching Mako's.

"We were just-"

"Mako's going to confront the Triple Threat Triad!" Korra yelled out, not flinching at Mako's shocked expression.

Zuko's brow furrowed in confusion slightly, then, it was as if he understood the situation the teens were in perfectly. He looked at Mako, who had adverted his gaze to the dock. Then he looked at Korra, who was glaring at Mako's face, tears slipping from her eyes. Because she was gripping the boy's hands so fiercely, she couldn't wipe them away.

The he did something that neither of the teens was expecting. He took Korra's hands, and yanked on them harshly until she stumbled away from Mako. Then he wrapped his arm through hers to keep her from running back to Mako.

"What are you doing?" She cried angrily, trying to escape Zuko's grasp. Who would have thought that even though he was older than eighty, Zuko was still really strong?

Mako's eyes were wide, confusion evident on every feature on his face. "This is something Mako has to do alone," Zuko said. "Korra, we should go back inside."

"No!" Korra yelled. "How can you let him do this?" she stopped struggling against his arms, instead falling against them to try and become deadweight. She wanted to become too heavy for him to hold.

"Korra." Mako said gently, stepping onto the boat and fiddling with the controls. "I'm sorry, and I'll see you soon, okay?" The boat picked up the wind, and started drifting towards Republic City.

"Mako!" Korra squirmed her way through Zuko's arms, and ran, stopping just short of jumping into the bay. "You're being stupid! Come back!" Zuko grabbed her shoulder, preventing her from using her bending to get to the boat.

But to her complete dismay, the wind increased and pulled the boat farther away, and Zuko's hand kept her from diving into the water.

"I hate you!" Korra yelled, not bothering to stop the tears from falling anymore. How could he do this? How could he just leave her on the island, to wait helplessly as he risked his life for the off chance that a Triad member would attack? Korra didn't care if thought he had to protect everyone. Getting himself killed wouldn't help anybody.

Mako didn't respond after she yelled at her friend, and Korra whirled on her feet to face her old master. "You have to go after him."

Zuko was already shaking his head. "Korra, I can't intrude on-"

"Then don't." Korra said, pleading with him. "Just follow him to the mainland, and then follow him until he finds the Triad. That way if something goes wrong, you'll be able to tell us about it."

Zuko studied her face for a long moment. He took in her tear-stained cheeks, and the way she was fidgeting where she stood. Finally, he sighed. "Okay." And he didn't say anything else as he turned towards the Bison stables.

Korra walked grudgingly up the dock back towards the Temple. Once, she turned around the face the water, but felt another wave of sadness when she couldn't see the boat anymore.

She knew she wouldn't be able to sleep; the sun was already starting to peak its way up over the horizon. So she settled for flopping on one of the couches, face down with her arms crossed behind her head.

"Korra? What are you doing up here?" a motherly voice asked. When Korra raised her head, she found Pema standing in front of her, and saw a few other Acolytes moving swiftly through the room. Either she had dozed off, or it had been a lot later than she had originally thought.

Korra didn't sit up, instead she just propped her head on her arms. "I couldn't sleep last night," she lied easily, "So I came up here to try a change of scenery."

Pema nodded, accepting her tale with a smile. She turned towards the kitchen, taking care not to hit her swollen belly on the door.

The Avatar groaned, throwing her face back into the cushion. How was she supposed to tell everyone on the Temple that Mako had chosen to be an idiot and had gone chasing after the Triple Threats?

Would they be angry with her for not telling them if he ended up getting hurt?

Korra didn't move for hours. Tenzin came into the room and tried to get her to train, but she just lied and said she wasn't feeling well.

Asami and Bolin tried to get her to go into town with them to cheer her up, but then she thought of Mako alone on the streets, and ignored them until they left the room.

Even the Airbabies stayed away from Korra, as if they realized she was extremely upset. Even when Meelo tried to be a leaf for her, she hadn't managed a smile.

Lu Ten came in later, and she was about to yell at him, but he didn't say anything. He sat on the opposite end of the couch, and rested his arm behind her legs. Korra didn't want to admit it, but the gesture made her feel better.

"Where has Mako been today?" Pema asked that night at dinner. "And Zuko, where is he?"

Everyone was sitting at the table for dinner, and after Lu Ten carried her to her seat like a child, Korra had joined them.

Korra glared at Bolin through her bangs. Would he know? Would he have any idea that he should know exactly where his brother was? But judging by the jokes he was making with Ikki, the Earthbender didn't suspect a thing.

Asami and Lu Ten were discussing the Arena reconstruction, Pema was scolding Meelo for playing with his food, and Jinora was describing her book to Tenzin.

It was all so calm, so relaxed, and so completely different from how Korra felt.

She was jittery, unable to remain still at the table. She hadn't even touched her food; instead she had pushed it around her plate and fed some to Pabu when no one was looking.

Soft laughter floated through the room, and Korra felt ready to tear her hair out. If she heard one more pleasant story passed around the table she was going to-

"Mako left for the city to confront the Triple Threat Triad!" Korra yelled, slamming her palms on the table and standing up in the process. The entire table went silent, and as Korra's breathing slowed, she felt burdened under everyone's heavy looks.

* * *

Mako checked one of the clocks in the window of a shop as he made his way through the city. It was get close to dinnertime, so he knew many of the Triads would be wandering around.

He hadn't eaten anything, but the nerves in his stomach prevented him from spending a few Yuans on a snack. He walked with his hands in his pockets, his head down, and close to the entrances to the alleys- he didn't want to miss spotting his targets.

"_I hate you!"_

The last words Korra yelled to him swam through his head as he trekked through Republic City. She couldn't actually mean that, right? She was just mad because he was leaving despite her protests. When he got back, he would tell her she was blind to have ever doubted him.

If he got back.

No. He couldn't think that way. Mako had to think of Asami, and Bolin, and everyone else at the Air Temple. If he gave up now, the Triad would have no reason to leave his loved ones alone.

There was no way he was going to risk anyone's safety just because Korra didn't want him to go alone.

Sighing, Mako stepped closer to the buildings to avoid getting rundown by a lady carrying a large crate. Now the boy was self-conscious, why hadn't he gotten a jacket? It looked bad to roam the city in just a dirty tank top.

Mako was just about to finish crossing the mouth of an alley when he heard a voice that stopped him in his tracks. "Mako? Could that really be you, kid?"

Without any hesitation, Mako slipped in between the buildings. He didn't want to attract any attention by bringing the conversation to the sidewalk.

He was now face-to-face with two men, both just a little bit taller than he was. Mako immediately recognized them. They were the men who showed Mako and Bolin the ropes during their first few years. The four of them had done cons together in the street, had run numbers in the tunnels, and learned the routine of every Triad member in the group. When Mako had decided he and Bolin were old enough to do their duties without mentors, the other two men hadn't been too happy about it. They were only about five years older than Mako, but they still acted as if they were decades wiser.

Mako sighed. "My brother overheard you last night." The Firebender had never been one for pleasantries, or trying to stall, he just wanted information and agreements, and he wanted them _now_.

"Yeah? So what?" The man who was slightly chubbier asked, raising an eyebrow.

Mako narrowed his eyes. Guess this wasn't going to be easy after all. "What do you want with me? I swore to Lightning Bolt Zolt that I would never disclose any information. Isn't that enough?"

The one thing Bolin didn't know about their escape from the Triad, was how it had been done. From an early age the boys were taught that no one ever left the Triad, yet one day Mako took his brother's arm and led him through the tunnels- and they met no opposition.

But Mako had made a deal with the leader of the Triad. Zolt told him that he had been useful during the years, and that if he never gave any information on whereabouts or missions, then he and his Earthbending brother could leave.

Zolt had been very clear when he threatened the brother's lives if Mako revealed and information.

He had the scars on his palms to prove it.

Mako had upheld that promise, so he didn't understand what these two men wanted.

Perhaps he had been right when lying to Bolin. Maybe they were just angry that Mako and his brother had left their group to con on their own.

"You still know more than you should," the leaner one said, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "We can't risk you telling anyone. Especially the _Avatar_." He sneered the word, as if the thought of Korra was enough to make him sick.

Mako clenched his fists at his sides. His teeth ground together, but he kept himself silent. It wouldn't do any good to hit these guys first, even if they were now making crude jokes at Korra's expense.

At least he had stopped Korra from coming with him. He had saved her from the tortures these men were saying they'd _love_ to do to her.

"Enough." Mako finally said through clenched teeth. He glared at the men, who were still laughing at whatever joke they had made.

The larger one looked down at the boy with raised eyebrows. "Zolt agrees with us, you know. From the moment you left he regretted making that deal. He was almost ready to send out a search team to find you, so he could kill you himself."

Mako didn't believe him. But still, it did sound like something that Zolt would do.

"Just leave my friends alone." Mako said, trying to slow his breathing. "And like I said before, I won't reveal any Triad information."

"Yeah," the smaller one drawled. "That's not good enough anymore, kid."

Mako's head snapped up just in time to react to a fire blast. He whipped his hands up to defect the blast, and shot two quick punches to each of the men. They were older, but Mako had the agility that could only be obtained through Probending.

He wound his way through the alley, punching strategic shots and ducking most of their blasts. The two of them were trying different tactics to cut Mako off, but the young boy danced around each of their attacks.

Or, at least he did, until one of their shots clipped his bad shoulder. He cried out in pain, swinging his good arm to fire at the taller one.

But then the chubbier one grabbed his bad arm, twisting it behind his back, causing him to yell in pain loudly. Mako tried to punch out with his legs, but then his other arm was jerked back.

Before the Firebender could form a coherent thought, he felt an elbow crash into his skull. Mako slumped to the floor, his arms still held behind him.

He finally blacked out as the two men started to drag him towards a door in the building to the Triad tunnels.

Neither of the men noticed the large Bison flying back towards Air Temple Island.

* * *

Korra's breathing slowed, and her cheeks immediately flushed a bright crimson. She sat down slowly on her chair, burying her face in her hands and ignoring the stares.

"Korra, what are you talking about?" Tenzin finally asked.

The Avatar sighed, lifting her head to look at Bolin. "Remember last night when you said you had really important news to tell Mako?"

Bolin nodded. "What about it?"

"Well," Korra said sheepishly, twiddling her thumbs on the table. "I kinda eavesdropped on the conversation you had. And when Mako left your room I followed him out to the docks. He admitted that he was leaving to settle the score with the Triad."

"That-that was private, Korra." Bolin whispered, a blush creeping onto his cheeks. He was clearly thinking about the things he mentioned to his brother about Ainya.

Korra sighed. "I'm sorry Bolin. But if I hadn't overheard, then I wouldn't have been able to send Zuko after Mako!" Korra reached out to touch her friend's shoulder, but he moved out of the way.

"So you followed him last night," Asami said, her eyes downcast. "But you didn't stop him?"

"I tried," Korra said, rubbing at her eyes. "He wouldn't listen to me. He kept saying that he needed to do this to protect all of us. He wouldn't even let me come with him." Her eyes narrowed as she remembered trying to plead with him, begging him to let her come.

The table was silent. No one wanted to look at anyone else while Korra's news sank in.

Suddenly, Lu Ten took her hand. "Korra, don't worry. If Mako left on his own accord, then there's no guarantee that he's in trouble, right? He could be on his way right now."

Korra looked up to meet his eyes. "I guess you're right." Her spirits lifted a little, but not by much. It seemed like too much to hope for, too much to expect Mako home so soon.

The door to the kitchen opened slowly, and Korra stood from her seat. Her eyes widened. Had she been wrong? Could he really be back after only a day? But the person walking through the door was too short, the hair gray around the edges, a scar covering his eye.

Korra sat back down, slumping a little in her chair while Lu Ten squeezed her shoulder. "Come on," he said, pulling on her elbow.

They walked past Zuko in the doorway, a worried look in his eyes. The older man quickly took Korra's empty seat. "Wait, Lu Ten. What if he has something to say?" Lu Ten ignored her, pulling her farther from the room. She started to struggle against his hold, but he just picked her up around the waist and slung her over his shoulder.

"Put me down! I have to know what Zuko's saying!" Lu Ten just continued to ignore her.

He walked to the boy's dormitories, ignoring her punches on his back, clearly heading towards his room. "Lu Ten." Korra said, her voice a lot quieter than before. "Put me down."

Lu Ten froze, taken aback at Korra's whispered request. He obliged, though, putting her down. "Korra, what is it?" They had stopped in front of Mako's room, just a door down from Bolin's. Korra opened the door slowly, holding her breath. For a second she almost imagined Mako lying on the bed, eyes squeezed shut in pain as the Airbending children ran into the room.

But the room was empty.

Korra ignored the pain in her chest as her eyes fell onto the object she had been thinking of. Mako's scarf was folded up on a small table next to his bed. The Avatar ran forward, snatching it into her hands. She ignored looking at his bed as she turned around to walk back to Lu Ten.

"Is that Mako's?" Lu Ten asked. Korra bit back the crude remark she was going to say to him, instead nodding to the boy.

Korra raised her eyes to meet his, a hard glint in her cerulean blue eyes. "We're going back to the dining room." She turned on her heel, marching back the way they had come.

Lu Ten pleaded with her to stay back in his room, to not listen to whatever news Zuko may have. She ignored him the entire way back.

Korra bunched up Mako's scarf, putting it into her pocket. It was too long to fit, and some of it was hanging out. She pushed the door open, bursting back into the room.

Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo were all absent. Korra figured they had been sent to bed when Zuko returned. Everyone raised their heads, but Zuko didn't meet her eyes.

"Well? You followed him, right? What happened?" Korra demanded when no one would speak.

"Grandfather, please. Don't say anything." Lu Ten tried to say more, but Korra clamped her hand over the boy's mouth.

"Sit down, Korra." Zuko said, gesturing to an empty seat. She took it, and Lu Ten took the one next to her. "We were waiting for you to return before I spoke of what I saw today." Zuko sighed, dropping his gaze to the table. It felt like hours, but Zuko finally spoke. "Mako was beaten by two members of the Triad, and then dragged him to their tunnels."

Asami choked back a sob; Bolin looked confused, but patted her arm awkwardly. Tenzin was shaking his head, and Pema had her eyebrows crinkled in confusion.

It felt as if a hole had been blown through Korra's chest. Up until Zuko revealed what had happened, Korra had secretly believed that nothing would happen to the Firebender. Sure, she had told Mako it was incredibly dangerous, and that he could be killed, but she hadn't thought it could really happen to him.

"Then what are we still doing here?" Korra asked loudly, jumping to her feet. "We have to save him!"

"It's late, Korra. We can look for him tomorrow." Tenzin said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I'll alert Lin and the Police Force first thing tomorrow morning, and they can help us look. It wouldn't be wise to go at this time."

"I don't care! We can't just leave him out there!"

"Korra," Bolin said gently, putting both his hands on her shoulders and forcing her to meet his eyes. "Tenzin is right. We can't risk getting hurt while looking for him."

The young Avatar quickly stepped out of his grasp, glaring at him. "I thought you loved your brother." She whispered violently.

Bolin recoiled as if she had slapped him. "I do love him," the Earthbender said slowly. "But we can't be irrational about this."

Korra bit her lip. He sounded so much like Mako when he was rational. "What about you, Asami? Don't you love him enough to want to find him?"

The heiress glared at her. "Of course I love my boyfriend. I just don't want to get killed tonight. Plus, with all of Lin's Metalbenders we'll be better prepared for anything."

Korra hung her head. What was she doing? Why was she trying to pick fights with her friends? "Bolin," she said, sadly. Her anger had evaporated as quickly as it had come. "I'm so sorry. And I'm sorry for what I said to you, Asami."

Asami gave her a tiny smile. "I understand, Korra. I'm just as upset as you are."

The Avatar had to prevent herself from narrowing her eyes at Asami. Somehow, Korra doubted that Asami was extremely worried. Sure, the heiress knew about Mako's troubled past, but Korra didn't know if she knew everything.

Hell, Korra didn't even know everything about the brother's past.

_No._ Korra mentally scolded herself. She had no right to be angry with Asami for caring. And Mako wasn't her boyfriend, so why _did_ she care so much?

"Well." Korra said decisively, "If you're not going to look for him, then _I am!_"

Ignoring the calls to tell her to come back, Korra sprinted through the Temple towards the stables. She found Naga sleeping in a ball in the farthest corner from the door. "Wake up, girl." She said slowly, picking the harness up from where she had dropped it.

When Korra finally got to Republic City, she pulled Mako's scarf from her pocket. She didn't have her parka, and the night wasn't exactly comfortable. She wrapped the fabric around her neck, trying to mimic the way Mako would wear it.

Korra couldn't explain why, but the scarf made her feel hopeful.

Asami frowned after her friend as Korra stormed from the room.

Lu Ten and Tenzin were discussing ways to bring her back, but Zuko was telling them it was pointless. When Korra had a plan, it took a lot of convincing to change her mind- usually convincing from _Mako_.

Pema sighed as she stood up, murmuring about checking on her children and heading to bed. She kissed her husband on the cheek before leaving the room.

"I'm going to alert Lin and tell her to have the Police ready to do a search tomorrow morning." Tenzin said, flicking his robes and leaving the room.

Zuko shook his head at something Lu Ten was saying. "It's not worth it, grandson. She'll be in the City by now, and we'd still have to find her. It's better to let her tire herself out. She has to come home eventually."

"But what if she gets hurt?" Lu Ten asked angrily. "I don't think she's thinking straight."

"I'm going to bed." Zuko said, ignoring his grandson's previous statement and narrowing his eyes at the three teens. "The three of you should do the same. Soon." He left the room, grumbling about his grandson's overactive imagination.

Lu Ten slumped back into his chair, crossing his arms angrily over his chest.

Asami looked around the room. All the dishes had been cleared earlier, and now the room looked barren. Without the Airbending children yelling, and without the stern conversation from the adults, it just seemed so… _hopeless._

They young woman looked over at Bolin, who hadn't said anything since before Korra's exit. He was hunched in his chair, his head resting on his hand. "Bolin," Asami said quietly. "Are you alright?"

Bolin sighed, looking up to meet her gaze. "I just can't believe he'd do something so stupid. I shouldn't have told him what I heard in the park that night."

"He just wants to protect you," Lu Ten said, scowling at the floor. "He wants to protect all of you. I don't respect his decision, but I do respect his motives."

Asami's eyes narrowed. That wasn't all he wanted to say. "Spit it out, Lu Ten. What are you thinking about?"

The boy sighed, raising his head. "Do you think Korra likes Mako as more than just a friend? She just seems incredibly worried."

Bolin tensed, his head turning back toward the ground. Lu Ten and Asami noticed this, but they figured he was just thinking about his brother. It had to be hard for him. Mako had taken care of Bolin for nearly ten years before their tiny family was filled with friends and loved ones. Now that Mako was running back to the Triad to protect Bolin, Asami wouldn't be surprised if the Earthbender felt like Mako's kidnapping were his fault.

"I don't think so," Asami finally said. "I mean, they've been friends for a while, and they competed on the same Probending team, but I don't think it's ever escalated from there." Lu Ten pouted a little, but he nodded, accepting her answer.

Neither of them noticed how Bolin's look of worry had turned into one of anger. Yes, he was angry with his brother for being so stupid, but he was angry with himself, too. Not because he felt guilty, but because he couldn't tell Asami or Lu Ten about Mako and Korra's kiss. It wasn't his place to tell them. If it were going to be important, it would come up later.

Lu Ten sighed. "I'm not going to sleep until Korra gets home." Asami nodded, agreeing with him. Bolin didn't say anything, instead focusing on a pattern in the carpet.

Asami brought out one of Ikki's games and placed it on the table. She and Lu Ten started up a friendly competition, making fake bets and wages. Bolin didn't participate.

As the night dragged on, Bolin's anger started to subside into worry. It finally hit him when the trio realized it was midnight: His brother was missing. _Mako was missing_.

Lu Ten joined in with Asami's laughter just as a door flung open, hitting the wall next to it. Korra came flying into the room, a huge scowl on her face. She ignored her friends as she made her way through the room to the hallways. She was grumbling about a stupid, stoic, no-good, jerkbending Firebender the entire time.

None of them had to ask how the search went.

They all stood up at the same time to head to their respective rooms. They had all noticed Mako's scarf tied around Korra's neck, but none of them had been able to vocalize their concern as to why she was wearing it.

"Is there any news yet?" Korra was yelling, repeating the same phrase over and over as she searched the house for anyone and everyone.

It was still extremely early, but everyone knew that they weren't going to be getting any more sleep. Ikki and Meelo didn't seem to mind, since they were soon chasing Pabu around the Temple grounds. Jinora was helping her mom make breakfast, and everyone else was waiting for the moment when Korra would crash through the door.

As if on cue, the door to the living room slammed open, and Korra nearly fell in her haste to get into the room. Mako's scarf was once again hanging from her pocket. "Has Lin called? Have they found anything? I looked in every alleyway, but I couldn't find any clues!"

Lu Ten grabbed her wrist and pulled her down until she was sitting next to him on a couch. She was still jumpy, bouncing in place, but he put his arm around her shoulder anyway.

Asami shook her head. She was sitting on one of the other couches with Bolin, reading a book. Bolin was reading the newspaper, trying to keep his mind busy.

"So there isn't any news?" Korra asked, her tone flat and her lips slipping into a pout.

Tenzin sighed. "I'm sorry, Korra. But Lin and her officers only recently began looking. It could be a while until anything shows up."

"I'm sure he's fine, Korra." Lu Ten said, kissing her lightly on the cheek. She didn't have the energy for a sarcastic retort.

The group was still sitting there when Ikki and Meelo ran through the room, their squealing only stopping when Pema and Jinora brought in food. Breakfast was eaten in near silence, broken only when Tenzin had to excuse himself for a phone call.

Pema decided to take her children out for the day, and Zuko agreed to accompany her. They left right after lunch.

"Korra, do you want to go for a walk?" Lu Ten asked.

"No."

"Do you want to spar?"

"No."

"Would you like to make dinner with me?"

"No."

Lu Ten let out a frustrated groan. "Dammit, I'm trying to distract you, Korra! You're upset, and I can't stand seeing you like this!"

She placed her hand on his cheek, giving him a half-assed smile. "I know, and I appreciate it. But you don't know Mako's history with the Triad. I don't think anything could distract me right now. Not until he's back."

The boy looked as if he wanted to say something else, but he nodded instead, putting his arm around Korra's shoulder again. She turned to kick her feet up against the armrest of the couch, resting her head in his lap.

He smiled down at her, kissing her forehead. Korra smiled back, but couldn't fight the nagging feeling in her stomach. Every smile she gave felt wrong with Mako somewhere out there in pain.

Close to an hour later, a door to the living room creaked open slowly. Korra sat straight up. "Mako?" She yelled, hope blooming through her chest. It deflated immediately when the dark hair that swung through the doorway was too long to be Mako's.

"Ainya? What are you doing here?" Asami asked as Korra slumped back into her previous position.

"Uh, Bolin called me and asked if I could come over. I hope that's alright?" She asked, clasping her hands behind her back. She looked at the floor, clearly uncomfortable.

Korra's brow furrowed in confusion and Lu Ten raised an eyebrow at her. She hadn't even noticed Bolin leaving the room to make the call.

"Of course," Tenzin said, sanding to shake her hand. "I'm Tenzin. And I assume you know Bolin's friends."

Ainya smiled a little, clearly grateful for Tenzin's intervention. "Yes, Bolin told me about everyone." She quickly crossed the room and sat next to Bolin, taking his hand. He turned to her, a small smile on his lips. They begin talking quietly, and after a fem moments, she had her arms around him, his shoulders shaking.

Korra looked away from the sign of affection. It was too much for her to manage.

Asami didn't seem to notice; instead she hadn't looked away from her book the entire day.

"Do you even care?" Korra finally asked; her eyes narrowed towards Asami. It wasn't as intimidating as she would have liked it to be, since her head was still in Lu Ten's lap.

Asami met her eyes easily. "Of course I care, Korra." She spoke every word slowly, and it was evident that she was trying to stay calm. "But Mako can take care of himself. It wouldn't do me any good to worry. I love him, and I know he'll get out of whatever situation he's in. Stop assuming I don't care just because I'm not running around in a panic like you."

"Fine." Korra pouted, ignoring Ainya's questioning gaze. The Avatar felt another wave of remorse; why did she keep questioning Asami's feelings? Bolin's lips were suddenly at Ainya's ear, whispering to her, and she shook her head in understanding.

No one in the room wanted to eat anything, even as it started to get later. Tenzin had taken another call from Lin, another report about the nothing they've found during the search.

Pema, Zuko, and the children came home later that night. Whatever they had done, it had tired the Airbabies out entirely. They were all falling over each other as their mom helped them through the Temple back to their rooms.

The phone hadn't rung in hours, and Korra figured Lin and her officers had stopped their search for the night.

"Are you going home?" Bolin asked suddenly, grabbing Ainya's wrist as she stood up.

The girl blushed. "Well, it's getting late, and I don't want to impose."

"Nonsense." Bolin said, pulling slightly until she sat back down next to him. He roped his arm around her waist and she laid her head on his shoulder.

"I'm going out to look for Mako again tomorrow." Korra said suddenly. "I felt so useless today, and I can't stand not doing anything!"

"We'll see." Was all Tenzin said in reply.

Korra mumbled, too low for her Airbending Master to hear, "I wasn't asking for permission."

The door suddenly swung open and a broken moan filled the room. The sound was so full of pain that everyone on the couches stared at each other, eyes wide.

Korra was the first to react, jumping from her position to look at the door. And suddenly, it was as if there was never an ache in her chest, as if there had never been anything to worry about.

Mako was here.

Mako was home.

_Mako was alive_.

In the split second it took her to realize this, she was already sprinting over to where he stood, his hunched frame taking up nearly the entire doorframe.

His shirt was gone, and Korra could see scratches littering his torso. The gauze on his left shoulder was stained red, and there was a tiny trickle still snaking its way down his skin. He had a huge bump on the side of his head, and it was swelling, and _purple?_ His lower lip was cut, and his left eye looked bruised. His hair was disheveled, but Korra didn't care.

She flung herself at Mako, wrapping her arms around his waist, burring her head in his neck. He grunted in pain, staggering back, and nearly falling over. But his arms quickly snaked their way around her back, his forehead resting on her shoulder.

Korra could hear everyone in the room whispering behind her, but she didn't dare break away from Mako. She feared that if she did, he would disappear from her again.

"I was so worried about you, Mako. I'm so glad you're safe." She murmured into his neck.

His breath ticked her shoulder as he replied. "I'm glad you're safe, too."

Korra was about to question his reply, but she suddenly understood. He didn't care about how many scratches he had, as long as there was no threat from the Triad- or from anyone else- to harm those he loved. He would gladly reopen any wound to protect them.

That realization brought tears to her eyes and only made her hug him tighter.

"Mako, how did you escape the Triad tunnels?" Tenzin suddenly asked.

Korra bit her lip, pulling away from him slightly. He wiped a tear from her eye, giving her a small smile. She hit him on his good shoulder, choking out a laugh. "You're still an idiot for going."

His smile was slightly broken around the cut on his lip, but it still warmed Korra's chest. "At least you're not yelling." Korra smiled back, remembering the promise Mako had made to her before he left.

The Avatar took another step away, and that was all the room Bolin needed. He grabbed his older brother in a huge hug, and Mako didn't complain about any pain.

"Hey, Ainya." Mako said when the emotional moment between the brothers was over. Bolin was wiping tears away, clearly uncomfortable with crying in front of his friends. Ainya smiled up at the Firebender, squeezing his good shoulder as she took Bolin's hand.

"Mako." The boy raised his gaze from Ainya to meet Asami's. He opened his mouth to say something, but Asami ran into his arms, wrapping hers around his neck. He kissed her cheek, and she murmured something into his ear.

Korra looked away.

She suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable about the hug she had recently shared with Mako. Asami was his _girlfriend_, why had it seemed so important for Korra to be in his embrace? She felt guilty now, looking at the emotional reunion in front of her.

Lu Ten took her hand, smiling down at her a little. "Better?" he asked.

Korra's smile was full-blown now. "Much." She said.

Mako and Asami broke apart, and the Firebender nodded a greeting towards Lu Ten. Mako wobbled a little where he stood, and before anyone could react, Korra had her arm around his waist, and was pulling his other arm around her shoulder, supporting a bit of his weight.

"How did you escape?" Bolin asked.

Mako chuckled darkly. "Interesting story, bro. But it's long. So it's going to have to wait for another day."

Tenzin asked, "What did they do to you?" he gestured to his bloody and bruised body.

"This one," Mako said, pointing to the swollen bruise on his temple, "Is from the first hit that knocked me out. That's how they were able to drag me into the tunnel. I think it was an elbow." He said, wincing at the memory.

"That's enough questions for tonight." Korra said, glaring at everyone in front of her.

They all seemed to understand, though. Everyone said their goodnights, and Asami kissed her boyfriend on the cheek before leaving the room.

"Think you can make it to the room, tough guy?" Korra asked, starting the trek towards the infirmary.

Mako chuckled softly. "I thought it was cool guy?"

"Yeah, but now you think you're tough for going after the Triad."

"Hey," he said, laughing now. "I put up a pretty good fight at the beginning."

Korra smiled, helping him up a set of stairs. "Yes, but then the evil elbow snuck up on you."

"It was a cheap shot."

"Sure it was," Korra drawled, laughing as he rolled his eyes.

Mako winced in pain as he stepped too hard on one of his legs. He tried to play it off as nothing, but Korra narrowed her eyes- she was going to interrogate him about that soon enough.

"Wait," Mako said, forcing them to a stop. "Where are we going?"

Korra raised an eyebrow, pouting. "The infirmary. Where else?"

"No," Mako said, shaking his head.

"Why not?"

"I don't… I- Korra, I just… I don't want to be a burden… on- on anyone." He stammered, avoiding her eyes.

"That's ridiculous, Mako." Korra said firmly, taking his chin and forcing him to look at her. "You will never be a burden on anyone." She sighed slightly. "But if you're really uncomfortable about it, I'll just bring you back to your room."

"Thank you," he breathed.

Korra nodded, dropping her hand from his chin to grasp his hand over her shoulder. They were both quiet as they walked back to the boy's dormitory, mostly to not disturb Bolin, Lu Ten, or Zuko, but also because they were simply enjoying each other's company.

She reached in front of them to open his bedroom door, swinging it forward so they could get through.

They walked clumsily through the open space, and Korra stubbed her toes a few times, before he finally managed to fall on his back on his bed.

"I'll come back to heal you in the morning," Korra whispered, taking his hand. He squeezed it gently.

"Thank you, Korra."

She nodded, smiling at him. "Just remember, city boy, no matter how happy I am that you're home, you still promised that I could yell at you."

Mako laughed, but it turned into a grimace when his lip broke open again. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Goodnight, Mako," she whispered.

He gave her a crooked smile, but then his eyes dropped down to a bright flash of color against her hip. She followed his gaze and blushed when she realized that his scarf was still hanging from her pocket.

"I-"

"Goodnight, Korra." He said, kissing her palm gently.

Korra pulled her hand away from him, her smile blooming again. She turned around and headed for the door, mentally wincing when she heard him shift his weight and curse at his pain.

She shut the door gently behind her, heading down the hallway to the girl's dormitory.

She pulled Mako's scarf from her pocket and fastened it around her neck. She didn't know why he hadn't taken it back from her, but she didn't want to question it as she fell asleep that night, the scarf bunched up in her hands.

* * *

**A/N: **Gaah, what are emotions? I stared at this chapter for days, trying to figure out how everyone would respond. I hope i did a pretty good job, but above all else; i hope you enjoyed this chapter(:

Basically, i had Korra freak out and be jittery. Asami was more of the strong, silent type. She was worried, but didn't want to vocalize it. Bolin was trying to stay strong, but even tough guys need to break down sometimes.

Thanks to all of you for reading!


	9. Explanation

"You're an idiot, you know that?"

Korra froze outside of Mako's door, her hand hovering over the doorknob. For a moment she believed that Mako was talking about her, but she heard two people laugh from inside the room.

Mako chuckled, "Yeah, Bo. I think i know."

The Avatar's lips lifted into a smile. She hesitated for a second, debating whether or not to leave and allow the brothers their privacy. Before she could make up her mind, Asami rounded the corner in the hallway.

She smiled brightly, "Hey, Korra! What are you doing he-"

"Shh!" Korra whispered, placing her finger in front of her lips. She gestured back towards Mako's room, and Asami raised a delicate eyebrow, but she tiptoed to the door, placing her ear against the wood like Korra.

There was a moment of silence before Bolin spoke again. "Mako, how did you escape the Triad?"

The Firebender let out an audible sigh that quickly transformed into a groan of pain. "It's a long story. And I have to tell you a bit about our past for it to make sense."

"Our past?"

"Yeah," a strangled pause, "Korra, you may want to come in here, too."

Korra's eyes widened as she met Asami's confused orbs. Shrugging, the Avatar opened the door smiling sheepishly at the brothers.

"How'd you know it was me?" she asked after a minute.

"Kinda figured as much," Mako said, grinning at her. He was leaning up against his headboard, shirtless, with his bad arm cradled against his chest. Bolin had a chair pulled up next to his brother's bed, and the Earthbender was leaning back in it comfortable. None of Mako's bruises or scrapes looked any better than they had last night, the bump on his head was an even darker shade of purple, but at least he was home. "And I heard you outside." He looked past her to the doorway where Asami was closing the door. "Hey, Asami."

She gave him a small smile. "How are you feeling?"

"Not much better than before. But being here is a lot better than being near Zolt."

His words left an uncomfortable silence hanging in the air. Everyone's gazes wandered around the room, trying to look anywhere but at the wounded Firebender in front of them.

Korra, however, hardened her resolve and took a step towards his bed. There was a bucket at the foot of Mako's bed, and when Korra stood in front of Bolin, facing the other brother, she lifted her hands to bend the water to her hands. It started to glow, and Korra carefully placed her hands on his chest.

He hissed as the water tore at his injuries, but it soon morphed into a sigh of relief. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the headboard.

Korra moved her hands along his torso, ignoring the way his skin shifted beneath her hands, and she started to heal his shoulder. She met his amber eyes and they shared a silent understanding. Neither Bolin nor Asami knew that the wound was there before he had even left.

"It's really deep," Korra noticed. "What happened?"

"One of Zolt's assistants wasn't too happy when I yelled at Zolt. Thought the best way to shut me up was to use lightening." Mako grimaced as Korra's healing water found a fresh scratch beneath the gash. "Worked for a few hours."

Korra quickly healed the cut on his lip, (ignoring how good it felt to touch his lip), and then worked on the bruise on his head for a moment.

"Done?" Bolin asked, looking extremely worried.

She smiled at him. "No. I still have to heal his ankle."

"My ankle?"

"Don't pretend like i didn't see you hobbling on it last night." Korra said, turning her attention to his foot. "And judging by the swelling, I'd say it's sprained." She let the water fall back into the bucket. She grabbed some gauze from the dresser and quickly wrapped his ankle and then his shoulder. "That's all I can do for now. I'll still have to work on your gash, the bruise on your head, and your ankle. But the rest should be fine."

She wrapped her arms around his neck, giving him a squeeze. "I'm just really glad you aren't dead, okay?"

"Thank you, Korra," Mako breathed, holding his good arm around her shoulders until Korra broke the hug.

The Avatar nodded, smiling softly. It hurt inside, though, to heal him. All Korra could think about was their argument on the dock, of how she had worried for two days when there was no sign of him, and then how relieved she had been when he finally walked back through the door.

She also remembered how hurt Lu Ten had looked when Korra refused to take up his offer on any of his distractions.

Korra sat on the end of his bed, pulling her knees up to her chest while she leaned against the wall. Mako's legs were stretched out in front of her, his feet nearly hitting the end of the bed.

"So," Asami said carefully, leaning against the opposite wall. "How did you get away from the Triad?"

Mako looked at his little brother. "Remember when we left the Triple Threats two years ago? When we walked out of the tunnels with absolutely no attacks?"

Bolin nodded. "Yeah, you never explained that. Zolt made it very clear that once you were in, you couldn't get out. So how did we do it?"

"A few months before we left, I started asking Zolt if I could work higher missions, more than just the standard cons. He started taking me on raids; you didn't know this because we always left late. You were asleep." Mako sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I did this to get close to Zolt. I figured if I was on his good side, he's be more lenient on me."

"You thought that if you were close to him, then you could get away easier." Asami said, her arms crossed in front of her chest.

"Exactly." his gaze fluttered from the back wall to Korra, who was resting her chin on her knees on the top of her folded arms. He sighed. "I asked him if Bolin and i could leave, since we'd been working for a few years. He agreed and-"

Bolin quickly interrupted him, "Wait he agreed?"

"Yeah. But he made me swear that I would never disclose any of the information I knew about the Triad. And trust me, I learned a lot about it on the raids. I eagerly agreed, but then he said there was protocol for letting someone go. One Firebender holds your hands, and two others burn them. That way, if you ever come with the cops to bust something the Triad does, they'll always know that you're a deserter." Mako laughed bitterly. "Zolt kept telling me I could have been the next leader of the Triad. He said he was so disappointed in my decision to leave. I said nothing to him when I dragged Bolin out of the tunnels."

The group was quiet, each of them absorbing Mako's tale with utmost care.

Korra was livid. Her bright blue eyes had hardened, and her glare was fixated on the sheets. He put himself through blinding pain, just to make sure that Bolin could have a better life.

Finally, Bolin spoke. "So, do... do you have those burns?" Mako nodded. Wordlessly, he pulled the black gloves from his hands.

Everyone gasped.

Winding around the palms and the back of the hands were angry pink slashes. Some had blistered, and others had come close to healing. But there was no denying that they would never go away, Mako's hands would forever hold the memory of his time in the Triad. There were no scars on his fingers, and none of them wound higher than the beginning of his wrists. They could be easily hidden, but if you knew what you were looking for, they could be one of the most obvious things about his him.

"Oh, Mako," Asami said, her hand flying up to cover her mouth.

"It's not like Zolt needed anything to remember me by, anyway. When I woke up in his office he told me he always knew that I'd me back," Mako said, glaring at the floor. "That's when I started yelling at him. After a few minutes of me yelling and him not responding at all, his assistant shot the lightening at me, just hard enough to make me pass out again." He touched his shoulder gently, sighing.

"When I woke up, I was tied to a chair. Bolin, the two guys you saw in the park were there. They were convinced I was giving you guys Triad information." He gestured to his bare chest. "That's how I got all of these scratches and stuff. No matter how many times I tried to tell them I kept my promise, they just kept punching. I was almost about to black out again when Zolt called them off me." Mako glared at the ground again.

Korra never let her gaze slip from the loose nail on the floor. She didn't know if she could look at Mako right now without feeling the urge to go back and knock some Triad heads.

Mako finally sighed, resuming his tale after a glass of water. "Bleeding and nauseous, Zolt brought me back to his office. He asked if I'd stay and take over the business for him. I denied, telling him there was no way in the Spirit World I would ever work for him again. He gave me a few minute head start to run before he sent some Triad members after me." He gave his friends a tired smile. "But I got away."

But the boy bit his lip and diverted his gaze quickly. He didn't tell them about all the interrogation Zolt put him through, or about how Mako had knocked him out redirecting his lightening- and that was how he was able to run.

He also didn't mention the terrible things the members threatened to do to him if he ever showed up in the tunnels again.

"Mako, I'm so sorry you had to go through with that." Asami said, crossing the floor to take her boyfriend's hand.

He smiled at her, quickly ignoring her concern. "It doesn't matter what I went through. Zolt agreed that he would never send any of his gang after you guys, so that's all that mattered." Mako wasn't lying about that- Zolt had sworn on it.

"Bro, didn't Zolt get arrested after Amon's Revelation?" Bolin asked, "How was he still leading the Triad?"

Mako grimaced. "A few members broke him out about a month ago. Now," he said, smiling. "I'm hungry."

"It's still early, there should be food in the kitchen." Korra said, jumping off from Mako's bed. She moved to help Mako up, but froze mid-step when she saw that Asami had already beaten her to it.

_It's what girlfriends do, _Korra reminded herself. So why did it hurt to see his arm around her shoulders?

The Firebender reached behind him to grab a shirt from Bolin, putting it on as he struggled to balance his weight.

"Oh, I forgot about this." Korra suddenly said. She pulled Mako's scarf out of her pocket, smiling lightly at him as she handed it back. He thanked her as he tied it around his neck, and Korra felt a little empty without its reassuring weight.

Bolin held the door open as Asami and Mako fought their way over the threshold. The group quickly made their way through the Temple, walking past the dining room until they came to the door of the kitchen. Loud laughs were echoing through the walls, and Lu Ten and Ainya greeted them as they walked in.

Ainya had stayed the night, as per Bolin's insistence, and now she was helping Lu Ten put some of the dishes away. Or at least, she probably had been before they got into a splash fight.

"Hey," Bolin greeted her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and kissing her temple.

She pushed him away, blushing, but she had a big smile on her face. "Good morning."

Asami helped Mako into one of the chairs, and he let out a few choice words as his bad shoulder hit the table. "Is there anything left to eat?" Bolin asked, rubbing his stomach.

"Yeah, the leftovers are in the fridge." Lu Ten said, pointing to the appliance.

The young boy came over to where Korra was standing near the door, and took her wrists in his strong hands. "Are you feeling better?" he asked.

"Much," she said, smiling up at him. And she meant it, too. Now that Mako was back and things were settled with the Triad, things could finally get back to normal at the Temple. Lu Ten grinned back at her before wrapping his arms around her in a huge embrace.

* * *

"Korra stop fidgeting."

"Right. Sorry."

A short moment of silence followed the hasty exchange.

"You need to focus on your breathing."

"Yep, focusing."

"Korra why are you so distracted tonight?" Tenzin finally cried, breaking his meditation. He and Korra are at one of the prime meditating spots, even though it isn't her usual training time. She felt bad about missing several practices over the past few days.

Korra gestured behind her. "It's not my fault, they're being distracting!"

She was referring to Mako, Asami, Lu Ten, Bolin, and all of the Airbender babies laughing and squealing just a little ways away. Ainya had left after lunch, promising that she would see Bolin soon.

Tenzin sighed before quickly standing up. "We will resume your regular schedule tomorrow morning, Korra." He whipped his robes back before taking off for the stairs.

"Good job, guys," Korra said, putting her hands on her hips when she stood a few feet from her friends. "You just made my teacher leave."

Asami giggled lightly. "I thought you'd jump at the opportunity to get out of training."

Korra stuck her tongue out at her friend just as Ikki started jumping in front of Mako. "How'd you get hurt? Where'd you go? Why was Korra so upset when you were gone? Were you on a magical cloud city in the sky eating rainbows with spoons and stars?" she was clapping now, grinning up at him like a fool.

Mako was supposed to be bedridden for the next few weeks, but so far that day he'd snuck out of his bedroom three times before nightfall.

Pema wasn't too happy about that.

"No comment," Mako said, grinning at her over Meelo's head. The boy was asleep in Mako's arms again.

Ikki was outraged. "No fair! You have to answer some questions!"

"No he doesn't sweetheart," a kind voice said.

Pema came up behind the group, narrowing her eyes slightly at Mako. But she didn't say anything as she took Meelo from his arms. "Whatever happened to him is for Mako to know by himself. If he chooses to tell someone, then so be it." The mother explained as she led her children back to the Temple.

Lu Ten came up next to Korra, roping his arm through hers as they headed down the nearby flight of stairs.

"Must be nice to have your friend back, huh?" Lu Ten asked.

_He could be more than a friend_, Korra thought sadly. But she put on a smile for her friend's sake as she said, "Yeah, I was so worried about him."

He stopped them outside her bedroom door, gathering her quickly into a hug. "I'm just glad you're okay. It tore me up inside to see you that upset."

"I'm sorry I worried you," Korra murmured against his collarbone.

The sound of his laugh reverberated through his chest as he held her slightly closer than arms length. "Just as long as you don't go running after any gang members, then I'll be fine."

She threw him a cocky grin before saying, "I can't promise you that."

"Well, then," he said, giving her a lopsided grin. "I'll just have to protect you."

"I don't need help," Korra scoffed. "Besides. You'll leave for your home soon enough, so you can't always be here for me."

"But I'm here now," he whispered, and before she could respond, he pressed his lips against hers.

It was different from her kiss with Mako. It was tender and sweet, and not rushed and clumsy. Korra wrapped her arms around Lu Ten's neck, and his hands cupped her face. He pushed her back against her door, pressing himself against her.

She grinned as she ran her fingers through his hair, and she was still smiling as he pulled away.

"Goodnight, Korra." He said, winking at her as he easily untangled his arms from her waist and took off down the hall.

"Dork," Korra said, laughing as she turned into her bedroom. Well, that had been nice. She may still be unsure of her feelings for Lu Ten, but she did know one thing; he was a _great_ kisser.

* * *

**A/N: **There ya have it. The first Korruten kiss. (Enjoy it!)

Thank you all for your continued support and suggestions, i appreciate every single one of them!

Now, onto a new order of business. You guys finally pressured me into writing a story for Korra and Lu Ten (Iroh). It's called _Second Chance_, and if you go check it out, it'll explain a few things to you guys.

It's so freaking weird not writing for your OTP.

Regardless. Tell your friends, tell your dog, tell the strange cactus you have hidden under your bed. Just check it out and let me know what you think of it, (because it's all for you, bitches!)

Thank you!(:


	10. Oogies

_Mako rounded the corner to the girls' dormitories, hobbling a little on his ankle as he made his way to his room. He had taken to walking the long routes back to his dorm at night, using the extra time to think to himself._

He still didn't like talking about what happened with the Triad, especially because he had only gotten back last night. Mako had explained everything to his friends, but ignored the extra questions they asked afterwards.

Bolin had been especially curious, and it broke Mako's heart to not tell him about it. Mako just didn't want to relive those two days.

Asami had been silent when they sat with each other earlier that day. He recalled their conversation sadly:

_Mako lifted his leg to rest his ankle on one of the chairs in front of him, groaning with the pain it cause him. Asami was sitting next to him, curled up into herself with one of Jinora's books. It was silent, and Mako quickly found himself fidgeting. Asami hadn't really talked to him too much that day._

"_Is something wrong?" Mako asked, taking her hand._

_Asami sighed, folding the corner of her page down and closing the book. She turned to face him. "Why did you go, Mako?"_

_He grimaced. "I had to protect Bolin. There was no way I could let the Triad get to him again. Not after he got kidnapped by the Equalists."_

"_But why didn't you tell us? We could have helped you!" she took a shaky breath, as if trying to keep her nerves in check. "Why did you tell Korra, but not anyone else?"_

_Mako sighed. "I didn't tell her about it. She listened in when I told Bolin."_

"_I still think you should have let Korra come with you, at least."_

_He shook his head, "No. The Triad members that took me were saying some pretty rude things about her. If she had been there… well, let's just say they would have put their fantasies into effect."_

_Asami pursed her lips, looking like she was debating something in her head. "Korra was really upset when you left. She didn't move for half a day, and then spent most of that night searching for you."_

"_She did?" Mako asked, frowning. "I specifically told her to stay away."_

"_Korra doesn't listen to anyone."_

_Mako laughed, "I guess not."_

_Asami leaned her head against his shoulder, and Mako wrapped his arms round her. "I was really worried. Even if Korra didn't think I was. Just… don't do that to me again, okay?" she asked, closing her eyes._

"_I'll try my best." Mako said, kissing the top of her head._

Mako still didn't understand why Korra had come after him that night. She could have been taken, and then he wouldn't have been able to live with himself.

He had been a little surprised to see his scarf in her pocket the night he had gotten back, but he hadn't questioned it, and let her keep it for the night. Korra was quick to give it back this morning, not offering him an explanation as to why she had had it for the last couple days.

"Mako?" He looked up after pausing halfway down the corridor to rest his ankle. His eyes quickly met Korra's, which were wide with concern. "What are you doing out here? You're supposed to be on bed rest!"

"You didn't seem so concerned about that earlier, " he joked, grasping his bandaged shoulder.

Korra ran to his side, putting one arm around his waist and bringing his arm around her shoulders. She helped support his weight as they started down the hallway.

"Yeah," Korra said, rolling her eyes. "But now it's late. You're not going to heal very quickly if you put too much strain on your injuries."

"But I have your awesome healing abilities."

"Oh, be quiet." Korra said, laughing. "I can't help you if every time I heal something you turn around and hurt it again."

Mako was quiet for a moment when they reached his door. The hall was silent, meaning Lu Ten and Bolin were most likely asleep. Korra looked at him questioningly in his silence, and Mako sighed.

He looked down at her as he leaned against his door. "I heard you came after me when I left for the City."

Korra's eyes widened. "How'd you find out about that?"

"Asami told me."

"I was freaked out, okay?" she said finally, clasping her hands behind her back. "It killed me to think that you were alone against the Triad."

Mako gave her a small smile. He could see where she was coming from now. Even though he had tried to calm her nerves before he left, she still worried about him. It was strange to think that someone as amazing as the Avatar, someone who was the actual link between the worlds, could care so much for someone like _him._

He stepped forward to wrap his arms around her tiny frame. She was hesitant for a second, but quickly placed her arms around his torso.

"I'm sorry you were worried. But I've dealt with the Triple Threats before. I knew what I was doing." He chuckled darkly. "They used some dirty tricks, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle."

She exited his embrace, laughing a little. "You're still an idiot for going, cool guy." She said, punching his good arm. "You don't have to do everything on your own. We're here for you."

Mako smiled. "And I appreciate that. Maybe we'll make it a field trip next time I want to beat up on a Triad."

Korra rolled her eyes, glaring at his goofy grin. "Go to bed. I'll heal you some more in the morning." A sudden afterthought: "How's your shoulder? I mean; I know it got hit by lightening, but it was already messed up before that."

"Yeah, it's not in the best shape at the moment. I'm pretty sure I'll have a scar." He glared at his gloved hands with narrowed eyes. "Just another thing I can thank the Triad for."

That was exactly what Mako wanted, _another_ reminder of his days with the Triad.

Korra took his hands and lowered them so he couldn't focus on them anymore. "Don't think of them as ugly scars. Think of them as a reminder of the strength you had to get away from the situation you were in. Without these scars," Korra reminded him gently, "You would still be a member of the Triple Threats."

"You're right," Mako said, taking back his hands. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it. Now go to bed before I call Pema and tell her you're not on bed rest."

Mako laughed quietly, "Okay, okay. I'm going. Just don't tell Pema. That woman will skin me alive." He said, turning around to open his door.

Korra didn't miss the grunt of pain that slipped from his mouth as he took a step. But she decided not to push it right now.

"Goodnight, Korra."

"See you in the morning, Mako."

"Oh, and Korra?" Mako asked as she turned to leave. "Thanks for not yelling at me." She smiled at him, nodding as she walked away.

* * *

A loud banging on Korra's door jostled her from her sleep, and she sat up quickly, scanning the room for any danger. The noise stopped; so Korra lay back down to fall asleep again, until she heard Tenzin's voice through her door.

"Korra if you are not outside for training in ten minutes you can expect triple sessions each day!"

She could imagine him huffing and letting his robes billow behind him as he walked away.

Korra groaned into her pillow. Why did Airbenders have to start their training so early? What was so wrong about waiting until after lunch to start working on forms?

It took her a few minutes to get dressed, and she was still putting on her hair clips as she made her way to the training grounds. She was looking forward to a nice, simple meditation before breakfast, and she was shocked when she saw Lu Ten standing next to Tenzin.

They were talking with each other, laughing and acting like family. Which they practically were, considering their heritage.

"What are you doing awake?" Korra asked Lu Ten, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

The boy shrugged, an easy smile on his face. "I wake up early."

"Korra," Tenzin said, preventing her from saying a snarky remark, "Today we will start with something different. You are going to spar with Lu Ten, but you can only use Airbending moves."

"But I'll lose!"

Tenzin shook his head. "Lu Ten will not strike you. The point of this is for you to focus on your Airbending forms without the distraction of the other elements."

"Fine," Korra grumbled, yawning as she walked to the opposite side of her friend.

Tenzin gave them the okay to start, and Lu Ten started firing strategically at her. He was aiming a bit farther away from her skin, giving her room to move around the attacks.

But it was early, and Korra hadn't been to a legitimate training session in a few days. Her dodges were sloppy, even from the start of the exercise. She yawned a few times during it as well, almost using Earthbending when she forgot what she was doing.

Lu Ten soon had her pinned easily, holding her hands above her head.

"You didn't even try," he accused, laughing.

"I object," Korra said sleepily. "I tried the very best I could."

The boy rolled his eyes, leaning his head down until their faces were nearly touching. "Well here's your reward for trying," he said, kissing her nose. He kissed her cheek, and was about to press his lips to hers when they heard:

"Aw, gross! Oogies!"

The two teenagers stood up; Korra blushing, and Lu Ten laughing Bolin's comment off easily. "You're one to talk!" he said, pointing a finger at the Earthbender. "I saw the way you kept your arm around Ainya while she helped with lunch!"

Bolin laughed, throwing his head back. "But you two were _kissing_." He pretended to shudder, as if the thought of the action was one of the worst things he could ever imagine.

"Aw, Bolin! Kissing is adorable!" Korra said, running to grab his hands. She kissed his cheek, a big overdramatic gesture, laughing as she pulled away.

"Korra!" a voice whined, "Why are you kissing Bolin? Do you love him?" Korra turned to see Ikki, her hair slightly messy, as if she had just come here from bed. The Avatar swooped down to lift the girl into her arms, twirling her around.

Ikki laughed, a high squealing pearl that echoed through the Temple. "No, Ikki. I was just showing Bolin that kissing doesn't always give people oogies."

"I don't know about that!" Bolin said, wiping at his cheek.

Korra ignored him, leaning down to kiss Ikki on her cheek, tickling her afterwards. Ikki kept laughing, screaming as if there were no tomorrow. "Bolin," the young girl said, "See? No oogies!" she hopped out of Korra's arms, pulling on Bolin's coat to bring him down to her level. She kissed him then, leaving a sloppy one right on his nose.

"Aww, Ikki!" Bolin pretended to complain, grabbing her into a huge bear hug.

"What's going on over here?" A lilting voice asked. Asami and Mako had joined them at the training ground, the latter still leaning to the side to avoid the pressure on his bad ankle.

Lu Ten shrugged. "Oogies." He answered simply, smiling at Korra.

"I think we can help with that," Asami said, grinning as she pulled Mako towards her for a kiss.

Korra felt her heart clench up for only a second before Bolin and Ikki cried, "Gross!" really loudly while pointing at the couple.

Ikki bounded back over to Korra's arms, squirming as she pointed to the two Firebenders. "Mako, Lu Ten, you guys have to kiss Korra on the cheek! It will be soo romantic!" she gushed, clapping.

The boys shrugged, making their ways to Korra's side. It took Mako a few extra seconds, but eventually they were situated. Both of them pressed their lips on Korra's cheek at the same time, but Lu Ten let his lips linger for a few extra seconds.

"Happy kid?" Mako asked, ruffling Ikki's hair and earning a pout from the young girl.

But she quickly smiled as she stole Mako's scarf, draping it around her own neck. Korra's eyes widened, he _never_ let any of the children touch the fabric, but he didn't move to take it back.

Bolin and Asami came to join their group, and the Earthbender said, "Okay now that everyone's officially oogied, I'm starving!"

Everyone agreed to go back to the Temple to eat, and only when they were leaving did Korra realize that Tenzin had left sometime during their kissing spree. Great. She would probably have extra long training sessions for the rest of the day.

They passed by one of the gazebos that the White Lotus guards would hang out it, but to their surprise it was empty,

"Your entourage is lacking, Korra," Lu Ten joked as he bumped his hip against hers. She rolled her eyes, but smiled back, even as Ikki pulled on one of her three ponytails.

Asami detoured over to the gazebo, heading for the radio that had been left on. "Shame to waste the energy," she said, reaching for the knob.

Before she could reach it, the music stopped, and the reception crackled for a second. Suddenly, a new voice replaced the previous track.

Ikki whimpered, hiding her face in Korra's throat at the new voice. Bolin and Mako exchanged worried glances, looking over to where Korra stood next to them. Lu Ten was confused for a moment, but his eyes widened in understanding. Asami's hand froze above the knob, as if unable to turn the radio off. Korra bit her lip, her eyes showing all of the fear she held inside as a few beads of sweat dripped down her face.

"_Good evening, Republic City. This is Amon…"_

* * *

**A/N:** D'aww, the Krew interacting as friends :3 I'm a sucker for things like that.

Kay, shameless promotion time. Check out my Korroh fic, _Second Chance_, Iroh is based after Lu Ten, she he'll be almost exactly like this kid^^

Thanks for all of the reviews and such! You guys make all of this completely worth it! Let me know what you think(:


	11. Confrontation

**Disclaimer:** I can not write fight scenes :3

* * *

_"__As many of you know, Republic City has been creating task forces to try and stop my plans because they think them to be evil. None of these have succeeded. Councilman Tarrlok believed that he could use the Avatar to find my bases and stop my Equalists, but they could do nothing but arrest a few of my chi blockers."_

Korra narrowed her eyes at the radio. She hated remembering her time in the task force, had hated feeling like a pawn in Tarrlok's game to gain more power in the city. She was about to express her anger to her friends when Amon began to talk again.

"_So I am giving the city one simple chance to find my Equalists and myself. We will be in one building until midnight. If anyone manages to discover us, they may stay and fight. When they do not find us, it will be back to meaningless task forces. You have until midnight."_

As soon as Amon finished talking, and the reception gave out again, Lu Ten stormed over to the radio and shut it off before anything else could come on.

Ikki tried to burrow her face even farther into the scarf around her neck, leaning heavily against Korra's chest. The Avatar turned to face her friends, who were all in a semi-circle in front of her. Bolin looked nervous, his eyes looking everywhere, unable tosettle on any one spot.

"That's the Amon guy, right?" Lu Ten asked, breaking the silence. He walked to stand on the other side of Asami, who was helping to support Mako's weight.

Mako nodded. "This is really forward of him. I wonder what led him to do this."

"It's probably a game to him," Korra muttered bitterly. Now that Amon had brought up the task force Tarrlok assembled, all she could remember was the embarrassment she felt after Amon ambushed her. She had told him to come alone, and yet he had brought as many chi blockers as he could.

Ikki raised her head to look Korra in the eyes. "You're going after him, aren't you?"

Korra smiled down at her. "Of course I am. You don't think I'm going to let someone like Tarrlok take care of this, do you?"

"Korra, you can't go alone!" Bolin cried.

Asami nodded vigorously, looking much more worried than Korra had ever seen before. "We're going with you. We don't want you to get hurt again."

Lu Ten put a hand on her shoulder. "You don't have to do it alone," he whispered. She had told him about being on Tarrlok's task force, and he was the only one she had admitted being sad to. He understood her fear of failure.

"Fine. But Mako isn't coming." Korra said quickly.

Mako's eyebrows shot up. "What? If you think I'm letting you go after him without me, then you're absolutely crazy!"

Korra walked up to him and nearly shoved Ikki into his arms. "You're still hurt." She said angrily. Truthfully, she wasn't angry with him. She was mad that he would be so adamant about this, when he wouldn't let her come along when he went after the Triad. "I can't heal you if you're dead, Mako." Her anger evaporated as she started imagining him, one of her best friends, broken and bleeding in the middle of an alley.

He seemed to understand this. His eyes softened as he shifted Ikki's weight in his arms, and adjusted the scarf around her neck. "Okay. Fine. But if anything happens, I'm coming after all of you."

"Now the most important question," Bolin said, and Korra and Mako turned to face him. "Can we be the new Team Avatar?"

Korra chuckled, "That sounds good to me."

Lu Ten cleared his throat. "I think the real question is, how are we going to find Amon?"

Asami held her chin in thought. "I guess we could just search around the city? I mean it has to be a pretty big building to house a lot of Equalists."

"That could work," Lu Ten agreed. "But are we gonna walk around the city?"

Korra quickly put two fingers in her mouth, whistling loudly into the night. A howl was quick to respond, followed by loud panting and the sound of stomping. Naga quickly ran up the stairs to where the group was standing before stopping in front of her master.

"Hey girl!" Korra said enthusiastically. "Up for a night in the city?" she asked, gesturing to her friends. Naga whimpered, stomping her front paw before turning around and bolting back down the steps. "I guess she doesn't want to carry us," Korra apologized, rubbing the back of her neck.

Asami laughed lightly. "Don't worry about it, I think I know what we can do." She turned on her heal, running back towards the opposite side of the Temple.

"Do you think we'll find him?" Bolin wondered quietly after a moment.

Korra gripped his shoulder. "We better. I've been itching for a rematch."

"But what if we get ambushed like… like you did?"

"It won't happen," the Avatar said, ignoring the way her chest tightened. "We'll be ready for whatever he and his Equalists have in store for us."

A sudden honking rang out through the night. A Satomobile drove in front of where everyone was standing. "Think this'll do?" Asami asked from the driver's seat, a huge grin on her face.

"I call front!" Bolin cried, hopping into the seat next to Asami. Lu Ten followed suit, but entered the backseat with a bit more caution.

Korra turned back around to face Mako. She placed her hands on his shoulders-which was pretty difficult to do with Ikki sandwiched between them- and looked right into his golden eyes. "Tell Tenzin and everyone else where we're going. Mako sure they don't come after us." She smiled softly at him. "And don't worry. We'll be back before you have time to miss us."

He nodded, and Ikki pulled on one of her ponytails. "If you're not back soon after midnight, then I'm coming after you."

Her eyes narrowed, but she decided not to argue with him right now. "See ya, Ikki." She jogged to where Asami had the car waiting, and jumped into the backseat next to Lu Ten.

"So, how do we get off the island?" Bolin asked.

Korra laughed, "The ferry. Isn't it obvious?"

* * *

The streets were almost deserted as Asami drove through the city. It was as if everyone had heard Amon's threat, and had decided to stay out of the way.

Lu Ten was the first one to ask, "Where do you think they could be?"

"Um, maybe-"

Lu Ten suddenly grabbed her arm, pulling her to his side and cutting off her words. He pressed his lips softly to her cheek, wrapping an arm tightly against her body.

"What are you doing?" Korra nearly hissed, trying to pull herself away from him.

He looked heartbroken, and she nearly flung herself into his arms to get the expression to go away. "I just wanted to make you feel better. You looked nervous."

She sighed, offering a small smile. "Now's not the time, Lu Ten."

There was a loud crash from somewhere to their right before he could say anything, and Asami immediately stopped the car. There were a few screams, but then everything went silent. People ran from an alleyway, sprinting to get away from whatever they were running from. There weren't a lot of people, though, maybe less than ten. But before Korra or her friends could ask what they were running from, they were gone.

Asami turned in her seat to face Korra. "Do you think that has something to do with the Equalists?"

Narrowing her eyes at the alleyway, Korra narrowed her eyes. "Only one way to find out." Asami nodded, moving the gearshift as she stepped onto the pedals. The car jerked forward, getting to the end of the street before Asami made a turn. She made another right; cruising slowly down the street- they didn't want to risk missing anything important.

"There!" Bolin cried quietly, causing Asami to stop the car again. One of the warehouses' doors was blown off, and smoke was pouring out of the open frame. "We better go check it out," he said when no one looked like they were going to move. The amount of smoke had thinned, and from what they could see, the warehouse was empty.

They all took that as a 'go' sign, and carefully stepped out of the car. Asami reached back into her seat to pull out the Equalist glove that her father had given her as an offer to join him. She smirked at it, an expression that showed she clearly understood the irony.

Korra took the lead, walking slowly through the door. The smoke had nearly disappeared, but it was still too dark to see anything. She lit a small flame in her palm, and a light glow behind her let her know that Lu Ten had done the same thing from the back. Korra used the fire to see a few feet in front of her, but kept her hand on the wall so she wouldn't get lost.

"Do you think they're here?" Bolin whispered, a bit loudly.

"Shh!" the other three teenagers responded. Whether the Equalists and Amon were here or not, they wouldn't find out until they had scoped out more of the building.

Korra quickly extinguished her flame as the hall they were in opened to a large room. She threw her arm to her side, preventing Asami from walking past her. Bolin froze behind the heiress, and Lu Ten let his fire go out when he saw that Korra had done so.

She put a finger to her lips, pointing in front of her. They all leaned around the corner, letting out a collective gasp at what they saw in front of them.

The room was huge, with a large closed door behind a small stage. Looking up, Korra saw that there was a type of balcony that wrapped around all of the walls, but it led to only one door, on the opposite end of the room. There were very few windows, and each of them was dirty and covered in grime. There were no signs of why there could have been an explosion to knock a door down, but the air smelled like gasoline.

But that wasn't all.

Amon stood in the center of the stage, with his Lieutenant and a few other masked Equalists flanking him. There had to be at least forty Equalists all standing in front of the stage, facing towards their leader. And one of the strangest parts was that everything was silent. It was as if Amon had finished giving a speech, or they all just had nothing to say.

Either way, the odds were not looking too good for Team Avatar.

"This is not good." Lu Ten whispered. Asami quickly leaned over to slap her hand over his mouth, but it was too late. The Equalists had already turned to where they were hiding.

The Lieutenant pointed one of his Kali sticks towards the group. "The Avatar. That's her!"

"Seize them." A cold voice said, and with a stricken gut Korra realized that every one of the Equalists was now charging towards them.

Korra quickly jumped into action, sending powerful bursts of flames towards the oncoming Equalists. Lu Ten ran and stood back to back with her, shooting out his own fire. Korra used her Earthbending to block some of them, but soon the two were surrounded. They didn't give up though, both of them using moves they had perfected sparring with each other so many years ago

Asami was electrocuting as many of the masked figures as she could, jumping and spinning out of the way when they tried to block her chi. When one of them got too close to Bolin, she used another's arm to spin herself around and knock out the one nearest to the boy. He thanked her, and together they continued on with their attack.

"Korra! I don't want to worry you, but Amon is escaping!"

The Avatar looked up to where Lu Ten was pointing, and sure enough, Amon was getting to the top of the ladder that led to the balcony. The Lieutenant was right behind him, kicking down any Equalists that tried to follow.

"Asami!" Korra yelled, and when the heiress had a free second she met the Avatar's eyes. Korra pointed to the door that Amon was running through, and Asami nodded. Electrocuting another Equalist, Asami followed Korra to the ladder.

By now, Amon and the Lieutenant were running through the door, so there was no one to stop the two girls from climbing up the ladder.

"Go!" Lu Ten hollered when he saw them pausing at the bottom rung. This snapped Korra out of her stupor, and she immediately started climbing, Asami following suit. They quickly reached the top and started sprinting towards the closed door. Without slowing down, Korra kicked the door down, stopping herself in the threshold, and the other girl stopped next to her.

Amon was leaning against the windowsill, looking completely calm. Korra figured the Lieutenant had already jumped from the window.

Korra's breathing started to get shallow, and her chest felt like it was being frozen in ice. Ever since being attacked by him on Avatar Aang Memorial Island, she had feared the day when they would meet face to face again. And now here he was, looking completely serene for a man who was escaping a battle. Korra wanted nothing more than to flee back to the car and get back home, but right now she needed to be strong. What good was being the Avatar if she would be too afraid to do anything?

"Good evening, Avatar." the masked man said coldly. "I did not expect anyone to find where I was. Least of all you. I suppose I should be thankful that it is you, and not someone who could actually pose a threat to me."

Without saying anything, Korra aimed her fist at the man and let out a huge stream of fire. She continued her attack until she felt Asami pulling on her arm. "That's enough, Korra!" the other girl yelled. The Avatar immediately stopped, and the two girls ran to the now empty windowsill.

"Where could he have gone?" Asami wondered as they leaned their heads out the window. It was at least two stories above the ground, and yet Amon and his Lieutenant had both disappeared.

Korra shook her head, cursing herself for reacting so foolishly. "Wherever it is, I'm sure his other Equalists have followed. We should go make sure Bolin and Lu Ten are alright."

Asami nodded, and both of the girls walked back to the ladder, stepping down slowly, even though the entire room was empty. It was as if all of the Equalists had left as soon as Amon had disappeared.

"Bolin? Lu Ten?" Are you guys alright?" Asami called into the empty air.

A loud groan was the only reply as the two boys walked into a patch of moonlight reflected through one of the dirty windows. Lu Ten was cradling his arm to his chest, any movement of the limb causing him to hold back a cry of pain.

"What happened?" Korra cried, running to stand in front of him.

The boy shrugged the shoulder of his good arm. "Equalist glove." He answered. "Caught me by surprise while they were all fleeing- what are you doing?"

Korra rolled her eyes. "Healing you." She said as if the answer should be obvious. She was currently bending the water from a few puddles on the ground, holding it at her hands until it turned a fluorescent blue, and then pressing it against Lu Ten's burn. He glared at her, as if appalled that she could use dirty water for something like this, but sighed in relief as the healing water began to take effect.

"Let's go home." Bolin said as the water rolled of Lu Ten's forearm. "I'm sure Mako and the others are worried." They all agreed, and quickly made it out of the warehouse back to Asami's car.

Bolin claimed front again, so Korra and Lu Ten took up their previous seats. As Asami pulled away from the warehouse and sped down the street, Lu Ten wrapped his arms around Korra.

He whispered, "I'm just really glad you're okay. Amon seems like a horrible guy."

Korra gave him a weak smile. She had forgotten that this boy knew almost nothing about the Equalists and their leader. And as they drove home, Lu Ten's arms around her the entire time, Korra couldn't help but picture someone else's arms around her.

Someone who had been involved in the Revelation with her since the beginning.

It was close to one in the morning when Asami finally parked the car in the Temple's garage and the team nearly fell from the seats with exhaustion. They all walked together back to the main entrance, where an Air Acolyte found them.

"Avatar Korra!" She said, her robes settling on her body as she stopped running. "Tenzin asked me to tell you to go straight to his room when you return."

Korra raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Uh, thanks?" she said, watching as the woman walked off.

The Avatar took off in a sprint down the hallway, barely registering the sound of her friend's footsteps behind her. She froze at Tenzin's closed door, but quickly flung it open.

"Tenzin? Is everything alright?"

"Shh!"

Korra's eyes settled on the sight in front of her, and her entire body felt lighter, warmer.

Pema was asleep on her bed, curled in on herself while Tenzin sat in the chair next to the bed, a hand resting lightly on her shoulder. But the thing that Korra couldn't take her eyes off of was the sight of Mako, leaning against the wall with a tiny bundle in his arms. His eyes were filled with so much love, and his mouth was turned up in one of the sweetest smiles Korra had ever seen. And it was all directed at this tiny bundle.

A tiny bundle swathed in yellow and orange blankets.

With a wave of happiness, Korra realized this was Pema and Tenzin's fourth child.

"What's his name?" Asami asked from behind her.

Tenzin looked up at the four teenagers standing in his doorway before his gaze turned back to his child. "Rohan," he said happily.

Mako looked up, meeting Korra's eyes. "You want to hold him?"

"I-" Korra had never held a baby before in her life. What if she dropped him? Weren't babies squishy? What if she squished him?

The Firebender noticed how her expression quickly changed to one of apprehension, and he chuckled quietly. "It isn't difficult, Korra."

She approached him nervously, stopping arms length from his body. He gently stood from where he against the wall, and placed Rohan in her arms. Mako adjusted the baby's head to fit against the crook of her elbow, and Korra couldn't help but grin.

The Avatar was holding a _baby._

"See?" Mako said, grinning down at her. "I told you it wasn't hard."

Korra gave Rohan a huge smile as he opened his eyes lightly. He garbled something, but whatever it was sounded perfect to her. "Yeah, yeah. You're always right," she joked, brushing a fingertip against Rohan's cheek.

Mako looked over her shoulder at the others standing in the doorway. "What happened? Did you guys find Amon?"

Bolin nodded. "Yeah, he and a bunch of other Equalists were at this super creepy warehouse. We all fought for a really long time, and then they just disappeared."

"That's our fault," Korra said, nodding to Asami. "We chased Amon out of a window. He must have given the order to leave soon after."

Asami suddenly surged forward and grabbed Mako's wrist. "Come with me," she said, pulling him out of the room and avoiding his whimpers of pain as he was forced to step on his bad leg to keep up.

"I wonder what that's about," Bolin said, sticking his head around the corner. "Regardless, I'm turning in. See you guys in the morning." He left the room.

Tenzin stood up from his chair and took his child out of Korra's arms. She immediately missed the warmth the bundle brought her. "I'm just glad you kids are alright. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if any of you got hurt. Now please leave my room, my wife and I need our rest."

"Goodnight, Tenzin." Korra said, smiling at her Airbending Master.

Lu Ten walked her back towards the girl's dormitories, and leaned against the doorframe as she crossed the threshold to her room.

"What do you say to going on a date with me tomorrow afternoon?" the boy said suddenly.

Korra raised an eyebrow at him. "What?" she knew they had joked about romance and stuff before, but he had never been this forward.

He shrugged. "Come on, Korra. Just one date. If you hate it, I'll never ask again."

She sighed, rubbing her hands along her arms. "Alright." She relented.

Lu Ten grinned, throwing her a wave as he left her doorframe. "Just you wait, Avatar." He said, letting out a quiet chuckle.

She quickly changed for bed before leaning against her bedframe. Naga had gotten into her room again, and the Polar Bear Dog leaned her head against the foot of Korra's bed.

Korra had never _really_ felt romantic feelings for Lu Ten, and seeing Mako with Rohan had definitely made her heart soar. She didn't know what to think. Hopefully this date with Lu Ten tomorrow would help her sort out the jumbled mess that was her heart.

* * *

**A/N: **So there you have it, i'm sorry that this update took so long. But here it is, bask in its glory! :D (Totally kidding.)

Do any of you guys have a Tumblr? 'Cause i'd be happy to share url's if you did. *End shameless promotion.

Anyway, review and let me know what you think of this installment! Thank you all for your continued support!


	12. Dating

**A/N: **Sorry this took so long, guys! School started up again, and we all know what that means .

Anyway, here it its: the moment you've been waiting for.

Well, I guess that depends what you've been waiting for, now doesn't it?

This chapter ended up being very Mako-centric. But I don't really care. I think it works. At one point, I think I lost track of whose point of view it was, but I think it's fine. If it's really confusing, then let me know and I'll see if I'll change it.

Review and let me know what you think!

* * *

Mako nearly stumbled at least ten times on their way through the hallway. He tried to pull his wrist away from Asami, but she wasn't letting up. And she hadn't said anything, either. She was silent, and wouldn't answer any of Mako's questions. The only sounds were his inquiries, and their shoes scuffing across the floor.

She finally pulled him into her room, closing the door and crossing her arms across her chest. She leaned against the closed door, glaring over at him.

"Uh," Mako tried, rubbing the back of his neck. What was he supposed to say? His leg hurt from the fast pace, and his girlfriend was staring at him- saying absolutely nothing.

"How do you feel about Korra?" Asami said suddenly, earning a disbelieving stare from Mako.

He spluttered, "I-uh, she… she's my best friend." He said, coughing into the back of his hand.

Her eyes narrowed. "I don't believe you."

That brought him up short. He didn't- he couldn't- feel anything for Korra. He was dating Asami, and Korra wasn't right for him. She was rash, reckless, she never thought anything through, and she was always ready to jump into any situation. And she made him happy when they hung out together. Korra had saved his and Bolin's lives more times than they could count. She was-

"Mako!"

His head snapped back to face the angry woman in front of him. "Sorry." He murmured. "What were you saying?"

She sighed. "I was saying that I think you aren't addressing your true feelings. I watched how upset Korra got while you were missing. And you seemed pretty happy to see her when you got back." Asami told him, her glare losing its intensity.

"She's my best friend!" Mako cried, immediately regretting it when Asami's face softened. Now she looked sad. Asami wasn't doing anything wrong-she was just expressing concern. "How was I-"

Asami held up a hand to cut him off. "You didn't ask if I wanted to hold the baby," she muttered, glaring at his feet.

Mako's eyebrows rose in confusion. "What?" he asked, she had said it quietly. She repeated herself, but with more intensity this time. "I'm sorry, Asami. Korra and the Airbending kids are really close, and I thought she would like to hold Rohan." _This can't actually be about holding a baby, can it? _Mako thought, his eyebrows furrowing.

Asami finally looked at him, and he could see the beginnings of tears forming in her eyes. She took a few steps towards him, stopping when they were close. "I think we need to break up," she said after taking a deep breath.

"Asami-"

"You're confused. And I don't want to hinder any decisions you're going to make." She leaned up, kissing him on the cheek. "I still care about you. But I can't bear to watch you be tormented over someone else." She touched his other cheek with her hand. "I just want you to be happy, Mako."

Mako sighed, closing his eyes. He didn't know what to say- how were you supposed to respond to a break up?

Asami took her hand from his face, pointing at the door behind her with a small smile. He took the hint. He touched her cheek one last time, matching her tiny grin, before shuffling his way out of the door.

He shuffled through the hallway, dragging his leg behind him with exhaustion. It had to be at least two a.m., and there he was, slowly making his way back to his room.

Mako couldn't fight it. He was upset over his breakup with Asami; their relationship had been easy. It had been lighthearted and simple, but it had all changed when Korra admitted her feelings. After that, Mako had been questioning every move he made, and he had made some shitty moves. Hurting both Asami and Korra while he tried to stay with his girlfriend, it was no wonder Asami had dumped him.

Stopping in the middle of the hallway, Mako slid down the wall to a sitting position, resting his elbows on his knees and his face in his hand.

Now what was he supposed to do? He couldn't exactly talk to Korra about it, going after her right after a breakup would make him look even more like a jerk. Not that he wanted to after her. That would be wrong, too.

But he couldn't deny what Asami had accused him of. There was just something about Korra that drew him in, and made him feel happy.

Maybe he was in love with her.

Mako let out a harsh laugh. That couldn't be right. But what he felt about Korra was different from whatever he had felt for Asami. And thinking about it now, Mako realized that he was never in love with Asami, he had loved the security her relationship had brought him.

Korra was his best friend. Someone who made him laugh, and tore down all of the walls he had spent ten years building up. She was good with kids, even though her rash nature told her she wouldn't be. She was immensely powerful, and could handle anything. But she wasn't afraid to cry. She was perfect.

And Mako was in love with her.

_Shit._

He stood up suddenly, ignoring the pain that coursed through his leg, and made his way through the hallway again. Pausing at the end to catch his breath, he understood where he was. At the end of the girl's dormitory, a hallway away from Asami's room, and five feet away from Korra's.

Mako looked over to his left, at Korra's closed door. He couldn't go talk to her now; she was most likely asleep. And she probably didn't feel the same way. He had turned her down, accused her of lying, and then accepted her invitation for housing. They may be friends, but she probably wouldn't forgive him for how he had treated her.

Why was he such an idiot?

Sighing, Mako started heading back to his room. It took a while, even though he was nearly sprinting. He was trying to run from his feelings, to run away from Korra's room. He needed to clear his head, and he figured sleeping for days would help.

He made it back to the boy's dormitory, sneaking quietly past Meelo's room, and then past Master Zuko's. He opened his door just as the door across the hall from his opened.

"Mako?" The boy in question turned around, and met Bolin's questioning gaze. "What are you doing getting in so late?"

Mako sighed, leaning against the doorframe. The day filled with worry, a birth, and a breakup was finally starting to catch up to him, and he was exhausted. "Asami and I were talking." He said after a moment, fixing his gaze on a crack in the floor.

"Did she…?"

He nodded. "She broke up with me. Said I was ignoring my true feelings."

Bolin let out a quiet laugh. "Finally!" he said after a while, still chuckling. When he saw Mako's glare, he quickly backtracked. "I mean, it's obvious how you feel about Korra, and how she feels about you! The only ones who haven't noticed are you and Korra!"

"That's not true, Bo." Mako said, rolling his eyes. Korra didn't feel that way about him.

"You didn't watch her fall apart when you were gone." Bolin said quietly. "We were all so worried, but watching Korra nearly go crazy, the rest of us couldn't afford to be upset. She searched for you, bro, she went out after the Triad to try and find you." Bolin crossed his arms, mimicking the stance of his older brother. "She was a mess. It was terrible to witness."

Mako frowned. "I told her to stay here."

"Did you expect her to listen?"

_No._ He hadn't expected it at all. But hearing it, knowing how hard it had been for everyone else, it made him feel even worse about his decision. But they were alive, everyone he cared about was safe, and that was all that mattered.

Bolin's expression softened. "Just tell her how you feel, bro. We can all see it, and it's about time you see it too."

Mako shrugged. "Good night." He said, as Bolin slowly shook his head and retreated back to his room.

The door closed, but another shape appeared at the corner of the door. "Oh, hey Mako." Lu Ten said, running a hand through his wet hair. The boy looked too happy for someone who was still awake in the middle of the night.

"Hi, Lu Ten." Mako answered. There was a beat of awkward silence. "Well, good night." He said, backing up into his room.

Maybe he should talk to Korra. If what Bolin had said was true, then there couldn't be any harm in discussing it with her, right? But then he remembered everything he saw between Korra and Lu Ten during all of the time they had spent together. She probably liked royalty.

Maybe he wouldn't talk to Korra tomorrow.

Mako woke up late, well, late for him. It was past dawn, and after raiding the fridge, he learned it was after breakfast. Zuko gave him a light session, making sure to work other aspects of his training- ones that didn't involve his leg.

He hadn't seen Korra all day, but that really didn't surprise him. He doubted their friendship again ever since Asami had opened his eyes, and he figured she was spending all of her time with Lu Ten.

Now he was sitting with Rohan in Pema's room. Tenzin had ben called into a council meeting, and Pema had asked for a little bit of help. Bolin and Asami were teaching the girls how to play Pai Sho- without cheating, and Meelo was trying to get Asami to give him her hair.

"Mako, Rohan seems to really like you." Jinora said quietly. She had gotten up from her position on the floor, and now she was standing at his shoulder. "He's never quiet when anyone else holds him."

Rohan was asleep, his head turned into the Firebender's shoulder. Mako gave the young girl a smile. "I guess he just likes to be warm. Come here," he told her, taking her hand and helping her to sit on the bed. He gently fit the baby into her arms, and her face broke into a smile.

"Thank you all for watching the children," Pema said, entering the room. She picked up Meelo after he latched himself onto her leg, and accepted Ikki's hand.

Asami smiled at the older woman. "It was no problem. I hope you had a nice day away from all the stress," she said, hoisting Bolin up by the elbow. "Come on, Bolin. I'm hungry."

They left the room, and Mako stood up uncertainly. "Uh, Pema?" he asked quietly.

She looked up from fixing Ikki's hair. "Yes, Mako?"

"Do you," he took a deep breath. "Do you happen to know where Korra is?"

Pema's entire expression changed from curious, to shocked, to remorse, and then finally to understanding in a course of seconds. "I believe she and Lu Ten went out on a lunch date." She said quietly.

Mako nodded, refusing to show his reaction. "Thank you." He told her, walking past them into the hallway. Figures.

Pema closed her eyes, a sad frown littering her lips. "Now he realizes it," she whispered to no one, kicking the door closed behind him.

"You don't actually believe that do you?"

"Of course I do! I could totally kick your butt with Firebending!"

Korra rolled her eyes. They were waiting on dessert at the restaurant he had taken her to, which was some weird cross between Narook's and Kuang's, and he had started bragging about his increased level of bending. Now he truly believed that he could beat her.

"You're delusional, Lu Ten." She told him, smirking. She was more powerful, even at seventeen, than he would probably be for years.

Lu Ten gave her a cocky smile. "Whatever you say, Avatar."

"I've beaten you so many times, the White Lotus guards stopped making bets."

"That was three years ago. I've trained more since then."

"So have I. And I passed an official Avatar Firebending test."

The waitress came back, two plates on her tray. "A little lover's quarrel?" she asked, laughing.

Korra shook her head, "Oh, no. That's not-"

"Just a small one," Lu Ten said, grinning. He accepted the two plates, both with some kind of Fire Nation dessert on them. The waitress put down a slip of paper, took their empty plates, and walked away.

Korra raised an eyebrow at the delicacy. She wasn't one for trying new foods, especially after eating the same things for thirteen years, and she didn't know if she was willing to do so now.

Lu Ten rolled his eyes, putting a plate in front of her. "Just try it, Korra." He picked up his own fork, taking a large bite and letting out a sigh of pleasure.

She picked up the fork resting on her plate. She took a small bite, chewing carefully. It wasn't bad, but it definitely wasn't as good as the desserts Mako would sometimes make for the family. It was too refined.

"What do you think?"

Korra swallowed. "It's good," she said, truthfully. _It's too sweet, it's a little flat, and it's not what I want._

They finished, and Lu Ten paid the bill (despite Korra's complaints to do it herself), and they made their way out of the restaurant. He hooked his arm through hers, walking her back to the island. He had insisted they leave Naga behind on the island, saying the walk would be better for the date.

It was sweet, all of the romantic gestures he had made, (even though Korra still hated romance,) he had even gotten her flowers. He had bribed the ferry driver into taking only them from and back to the island, and had made last minute reservations at a place that never accepted them.

Lu Ten had been so sweet, and nice, and perfect to her, but there had been something missing.

There was no reason to fight. No reason to punch a shoulder. No reason to pause in the conversation or try to decipher a sentence. The date had been perfect.

Too perfect.

Korra missed Mako. There, she would admit it. Almost everything Lu Ten had done reminded her of a different way that Mako did it. And now as they made their way back to the island, she found herself getting more and more excited. Maybe Mako would watch Rohan with her.

"Korra, are you even listening to me?" Lu Ten asked, laughing.

"Oh, what were you saying?" Korra asked, a guilty feeling starting to sink in the pit of her stomach. Here she was, on a date with Lu Ten, and all she could think about was time spent with Mako.

The boy shrugged. "It was nothing important. I hope you had fun, Korra." He said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

"It was a blast," she said. She had an impulse to punch his shoulder and accuse him of getting too sappy, but this was whom he was. It wasn't Mako. Lu Ten wore his heart on his sleeve.

She missed punching.

"Naga! Where are you girl?" the call came from a little ways on the Temple, and Naga's ears immediately perked up. She didn't move, though, since she had Mako resting at her side.

The boy was cradling his shoulder in his opposite hand. It had started bothering him again, but he refused to let Tenzin call any of the city's healers to help him.

A loud whistle echoed through the Temple, and Naga responded with a howl. Korra came bounding up to where they were resting. "Naga! There you are!" the girl's head came into view, with a huge grin on her face.

"Oh, Mako. Hey." She said, stopping. Great. Now she didn't even want to see him. "Is your shoulder alright?"

He shrugged with the good one. "Not really." He admitted, leaning his head back against Naga's side so he could look up at her. "Can you help?"

She nodded, bending a stream of water from somewhere nearby. She kneeled next to him, running her hands over his shoulder. The water slowly eased his pain, and after a moment Korra dropped the water.

"Thank you." He breathed, slowly moving his shoulder. "So, how was your date with Lu Ten?"

Korra looked confused. "How did you know about that?"

He shrugged. "Pema mentioned it." It wasn't entirely a lie.

"If I'm being honest, it was pretty boring." Korra admitted. "Lu Ten's nice, but he's nothing like you." She suddenly clamped her hands over her mouth, her eyes widening. She looked terrified.

Her words started to sink in, and Mako's lips stretched into a tiny grin. "What?"

Korra looked away. "Nothing."

How could she be so stupid? Her thoughts had littered to Mako all throughout the date, and now she had spit out her damn thoughts!

Mako reached out and touched her face, resting his palm on her cheek. This couldn't possibly mean… But he was with Asami!

No… they had broken up last night. Asami had told her that this morning, but she hadn't explained why, saying Korra needed to figure that out on her own.

"There's no one like you, either, Korra."

"Do you really mean that?" she said abruptly, pushing on her knees so her face was close to his.

He was slightly taken aback, his eyes widening from her sudden proximity. He didn't drop his hand, though. "Really mean what?" was she referring to his compliment, or could she finally be catching on to his feelings?

"Do you like me?"

_I love you, Korra._ He wanted to say, but he didn't know if she felt the same, and he didn't want to scare her away. "Yes." He finally whispered.

Korra leaned forward, nearly smashing her lips onto his. It was a lot like their first kiss, reckless and harsh, but this time he wasn't confused.

The hand on her cheek snaked around to the back of her neck, and her hands gripped his shoulders. She leaned into him, and was nearly pressed against his side as his other arm wrapped around her waist.

It was so much better than their first kiss.

They broke apart, grinning at each other. Mako brushed a stray piece of hair away from her eyes.

"So," Korra said, blushing a little.

"I really like you and I think we're meant for each other."

Korra smacked his good shoulder. "Oh, shut up."

He wouldn't tell her how much he liked her, at least not yet; he didn't want to risk what they were just starting.

She turned around to sit next to him, leaning against his shoulder. Her head tilted up to look at him, and he couldn't help but smile down at her.

"I guess we're…" she trailed off.

"I mean if you want to be- um, we could. Only if you want… and it's not…" Mako sighed; he wasn't good with words.

She reached up to kiss his cheek before slapping the back of his head. "You can be such a dork." She told him, rolling her eyes. "Will you go out with me?"

"Yes." The answer came quickly, naturally, and he didn't care that it wasn't like him to agree to something so abruptly. This was Korra. Everything he thought he knew was thrown out the window whenever he was with her.

"Do- are we going to tell everyone?"

Mako nodded. "We're going to have to tell them sooner or later."

She grimaced. "I choose later."

"Whatever you want."

"Mako! Korra! Are you guys up here?" the couple sprang apart, both of them leaning against Naga at a respectable distance.

Mako called out, "Over here, bro!"

Bolin came into view from the same way Korra had come, but instead of looking elated to see a Polar Bear Dog, he looked incredibly worried.

"What's wrong?" Korra asked, immediately fearing the worst.

Bolin took a second to catch his breath, but when he did, he raised an eyebrow at his brother. Mako shook his head. Bolin smirked, crossing his arms confidently.

What?

"I have a date tonight-"

"And that's worth getting upset over?" Mako joked, laughing.

Bolin glared at his brother. "Ainya said she wanted to go on a double date so it could be a little more laid back, but then she said I could choose the couple! You and Asami are done, and I don't know what to do!"

Korra raised an eyebrow. A blind Badgermole could see where he was going with this.

"And you want our help." Korra said at the same time that Bolin cried, "And I want your help!"

Mako laughed. Bolin could be so predictable.

Korra shrugged, knocking her shoulder into Mako's. "We'll do it."

"Really? Are you sure it won't be weird?" Mako glared at his little brother, as if daring him to say anything else. "I mean, awesome! Thank you guys, we need to get to Narook's by seven, so be ready!" he ran off back to the Temple.

"A double date accompanied by a fake couple that just so happens to be a real couple," Korra said, grinning over at him. "Tonight should be interesting."

Asami had offered to make them reservations at Kuang's, but Bolin had assured her that this was what Ainya wanted.

"She's not a fancy girl," he had said, taking his jacket from Mako's outstretched arm.

Now they were standing in front of Narook's and Bolin was telling them that he wanted to go home.

Mako sighed, getting frustrated. During the entire ferry ride and walk to the restaurant, all he could talk about was how excited he was, and now he wanted to bail.

They had been standing outside the restaurant for fifteen minutes. Ainya was already inside, sitting at a booth and looking at a menu.

They were five minutes late.

"Haven't you already gone on a date with her?" Korra asked, putting her hands on her hips.

Bolin nodded. "But this is different. What if she decides she doesn't like me at all?"

Korra grabbed the fabric of Bolin's coat at his collar. "Then you'll find someone who appreciates everything about you," she told him, her voice indicating that there was no way he was getting out of this.

"Ow, Korra! Quit it!" But she was dragging him through the restaurant door, ignoring his cries of uncertainty.

Smiling, Mako shook his head as he followed them.

Korra nearly dropped Bolin into the booth next to Ainya, who had moved inwards to accommodate him. Korra sat across from her, leaning back and crossing her arms in satisfaction. Mako took the last seat and gestured to the waiter.

He came quickly, taking their orders without hesitation. Turned out Ainya was a regular, too, so they all knew their orders already.

"You never told me your brother was dating Korra." She said to Bolin after a minute. "I mean, you mentioned a few things, but nothing like this ever came up."

Bolin shrugged, slipping back into his easy-going nature effortlessly. "It was kind of sudden."

Their food came soon after, and the conversation flowed easily. Korra found that she really liked this girl. Ainya may have been something like a criminal the first time they had met but anyone could see the good in her.

And she was making Bolin laugh, and he was making her laugh.

Their happiness was infectious, making Mako and Korra laugh just as easily.

But it was definitely weird, pretending to be a couple when they really were one. Under the table their fingers were laced, and every now and again Korra would punch his knee, just to make sure she never got too sappy.

Mako didn't mind.

Once, they started an argument over which kind of tea to get, pretending to maintain their previous attitude towards each other. It was pretty over dramatic, and by the way Ainya just stared at them, they didn't pull it off very well. Besides, if they were dating, then why would they fight? Especially if they were only there to appease Bolin?

Pretending was difficult.

"I have to go to the bathroom." Korra announced, nearly pushing Mako out of the booth.

Dessert had come, and Korra had wolfed hers and Mako's down before all the plates were set. Bolin was feeding Ainya a piece, and Mako was catching Korra's hint.

"So do I." he lied, following her from the table. When they were back towards the restrooms, they took off through the back door.

Korra was laughing, tugging on his hand as she sprinted through the street. "Blegh. Dates." She said, pretending to shudder.

Mako put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her to his chest. "It'll be good for them, to be alone," he said.

"We probably shouldn't have fought over tea."

"That was our worst fight to date."

"Did you see Ainya's face?" Korra asked, laughing. "There's no way our company was appreciated there."

Mako agreed. "But it's nice out tonight. Who needs to stay cooped up in a restaurant?"

Korra stepped in front of him, throwing her arms around his neck. His hands easily found their way to rest at her hips, and they grinned at each other.

"I think I like it out here better." Korra whispered.

He leaned down, just as she jumped up on her tiptoes, and their noses banged into each other. Laughing quietly, they tried again, this time a little slower. Their lips connected gently, and they didn't even care that they were in the middle of the City.

"Saw that coming," a voice laughed, and the couple broke apart, but didn't end their embrace.

Bolin's smile was nearly splitting with his desire to laugh, and Mako merely rolled his eyes. "Shut up," was all he could say.

"Come on," Korra suggested, yanking Mako's scarf from his neck and draping it around her own shoulders. "Let's go home."

They took the ferry back to the island, where Bolin did nothing but crack jokes about how their love took too long, or how they were blind to wait, or how they were both so clueless sometimes, the entire way back to the Temple.

Mako bid Korra goodnight with a kiss on the cheek before grabbing his brother by his collar, dragging him back to their rooms. Bolin was still laughing.

Fingering the scarf still around her neck, Korra made her way to her room. Finally she was with Mako. After all the things that had gone wrong between them, something had gone right.

She opened the door to her room, letting out a quiet yelp of surprise.

Lu Ten was lounging on her bed, flipping through one of her Airbending scrolls.

"What are you doing?" Korra asked, her hand over her heart.

He looked up, dropping the scroll and standing to move in front of her. "Hey. I didn't know when you'd get back from your fake date, so I just waited for you here. I hope that's okay."

"Uh, yeah. It's fine." Korra said, shrugging. "So what's up?"

She pushed past him into her room, dropping the scarf on her headboard and kicking off her boots.

Lu Ten looked a little nervous, and he raised an eyebrow at the sight of Mako's scarf, but then he cleared his throat. "Do you want to go out for dinner tomorrow night?" he asked, a hopeful smile lighting up his face.

_Shit._


	13. Lost Chapter: Rohan

Mako watched wearily as the car sped away, turning towards the dock. They would either need Korra's Waterbending, or have to wait for the next ferry.

Either way, Mako didn't want to watch what happened next. Especially because he couldn't be there with them.

Ikki whined, burying her face into the crook of Mako's shoulder. The Firebender realized what she had just heard on the radio had probably terrified her, and he was glad for the distraction- he needed to get her somewhere else.

She pulled away from him, lifting her head to face him. "Are Korra and the others gonna stop Amon?"

"Of course." Mako promised. He gave her a gentle smile, despite his own worries.

Mako began to walk, hiking Ikki onto his hip as he went. Her arms were tight around his neck, but she was staring ahead with a determined look on her face.

He was suddenly glad that she had his scarf. If it had helped him, it certainly couldn't hurt her.

He made his way into the Temple, off of the grounds outside and away from the radio. It was surprisingly silent, Mako noticed, in the hallways. While they walked, they didn't run into Jinora or Meelo, and no Air Acolytes passed by.

Maybe they had all heard the radio broadcast.

_Or they're just asleep_, Mako thought. There was no reason to get so worried when it really was late, and his friends were on their way to fight Amon.

Mako scowled at the thought, silently cursing his injuries. Sure, he had saved the people he loved from the Triad, but now most of those people were running into even more danger. What he wouldn't give to be able to go with them.

Ikki suddenly tugged on his ear, and before he could ask what was wrong she pointed to the kitchen. He figured it was where she wanted to go, and he pushed open the door.

"Oh, Mako! Thank goodness." Before he could blink, Mako and Ikki were gathered into a hug.

The person pulled back, holding one of their hands on both Mako and Ikki's shoulders, and a grin broke out on Mako's lips when he saw who it was.

"Pema," he greeted, placing Ikki onto the counter and adjusting the scarf. It was good to see a familiar face.

He leaned against the counter next to her, facing the woman standing in front of them. When he looked around, he saw that she had been in the middle of doing the dishes.

"Did you-" Mako took a breath, looking over at Ikki, who had distracted herself with the hem of his scarf. "Did you hear the broadcast?"

Pema nodded, frowning. "I was so worried. I didn't know where anyone was and Tenzin's at a meeting. Jinora and Meelo just ran by a few moments before you two got here." Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Where is Korra? The others?"

Mako looked away uncomfortably. Pema was incredibly sweet, but the way she was glaring at him, he knew that there was no good answer to her question.

"They went to confront Amon."

"What?" Pema exclaimed, beginning to pace around the kitchen. "How could they think that was a good idea?"

"Pema, please calm down." He stood suddenly from where he was leaning, grabbing onto her shoulder and bringing her to a stop. "Please, they'll be okay."

"How do you know?"

He couldn't know. She wasn't looking for an answer; that much he could tell by the way her shoulders slumped.

"Korra's the Avatar," Mako told her gently. "She can handle anything. And Asami, Bolin, and Lu Ten are all there to make sure she doesn't do anything too rash."

"I guess you're right." Pema sighed, stepping out of his hold. "Nothing left to do but wait, huh? I hope they get home soon."

"Mommy, can I have some Lychee Juice?" Ikki cried, jumping to the floor. After Pema nodded, she eagerly ran to the fridge, accepting the glass Mako held out to her.

Pema stood back in front of the sink, holding a few dishes in her hands as she got back to work.

"Do you need any help?" Mako offered, standing to her side.

"No," She waved his suggestion away. "You just do something to- Ah!"

The dishes she was holding clattered back into the soapy water, disappearing as a small wave of water fell onto the floor.

"Pema!"

"The baby!" She croaked, her hand clutching her stomach. She was doubled over, one of her hands braced against the edge of the counter. "The baby's coming!"

Mako's head was spinning. _Now_? The baby was coming _now_? But Tenzin was gone! And he didn't know where any Acolytes were! Who knew if the family was even ready for the child to get here yet?

"Ikki!" Mako exclaimed, turning the face the young girl. Her glass was forgotten on the table, and she had her face buried in his scarf again. "I need you to go find a couple Acolytes, and tell them your mom's going into labor. Can you do that?"

She nodded, a fierce determination masking her features. Without another word, she ran off through the door.

"Okay, Pema." He said, trying to maintain his calm demeanor. "Can you make it to your room?"

Pema let out a cry, but nodded nonetheless.

Mako secured his arm around her shoulders, gently guiding her from the kitchen. It felt like they were walking forever before they reached their destination, but it was only because Pema had to take frequent stops to catch her breath.

There were two Acolytes waiting in the room, and both of them surged forward to help Pema to her bed. Her cries of pain were becoming more frequent, and Mako soon found himself dreading when the next one would come.

She may have done this three times already, but he could see that it hadn't gotten any easier.

The door slammed open again, and Ikki charged in, followed by four more Acolytes- one of whom Mako recognized as Pema's mother.

"Hey," Mako said, touching Ikki's shoulder. "Can you call your dad? He's at City Hall right now, but I think this is a little more important."

She nodded, slipping his scarf from her shoulders and flinging it at him before leaving the room.

Jinora and Meelo poked their heads into the room, but the Firebender quickly blocked their view. "Not now," he admonished, shaking his head. "You can come back when it's over, okay?"

"I told you!" Meelo yelled, chasing after his sister.

Pema let out another loud shout, and Mako shut the door before quickly making his way to her bedside.

He took her hand, flinching slightly at how hard her grasp was.

Mako had only been present at one birthing before, when he was fourteen and had to help deliver a baby on the streets. He had to make due with what he had, and left quickly before the cops could take her to the hospital. He couldn't sleep for a week.

"That's right, Pema. Just breathe." The Acolytes were working quickly, a lot more efficiently than Mako could have.

It didn't take long to set everything up, and soon Pema's mother had joined Mako at her side. The Acolytes were gathered around the edge of the bed, finalizing a few things.

"Are you ready?" One of them asked, but the only reply she got was a loud scream of pain.

"Okay, Pema," Another said, an encouraging smile on her face, "Push!"

Mako felt the room begin to spin. Pema's labored breathing, occasional scream, the praise of the Acolytes, and the grip on his hand were all making him extremely uncomfortable. He should have left when he had the chance.

"I see a head!"

And just like that, Mako felt his nausea begin to pass. Instead, he focused on Pema, whispering encouraging words and squeezing her shoulder.

He felt his anticipation rise, and that was when he finally understood what was going on.

A baby was being born.

It didn't matter that a mysterious man was terrorizing the city, nor was it important that Korra was off somewhere he couldn't follow, or that Tenzin was at a Council meeting. Life kept going. Babies were born, lives were lost, and laughs were shared. Life didn't stop for anyone, and Mako decided that he wouldn't miss this event for the world.

Another life was beginning.

A sharp cry echoed throughout the room, and Pema sighed with relief. She dropped his hand, and he brushed her hair away from her face. Mako leaned down to kiss her forehead, matching her grin.

"Congratulations, Pema. It's a boy."

Her arms were then filled with a tiny bundle, orange and yellow blankets blocking her chest as she sat against the headboard.

"Pema!" Tenzin burst into the room, looking around frantically. When he saw the Acolytes, and his wife safe on the bed, his entire face softened.

She looked up, a smile spread against her lips. "Dear, come meet our new son."

He walked slowly to the bed, dropping down into the chair next to her. His large hand cupped his son's tiny cheek, and the young boy let out a sigh.

"What are you going to name him?" Mako whispered, gesturing for Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo to come from where they were in the doorway.

They all clambered onto the bed, staring happily at their new brother; Jinora even stroked a finger across his head.

"Rohan," Tenzin murmured happily, sharing a glance with his wife.

* * *

It only took a little while for the Acolytes to clean the room, chatting happily while they worked. They left soon after Rohan was born, telling Pema they'd be back the next day to check on both of them.

Tenzin had only left once, and that was to put his children to bed.

While he was gone, Pema had placed Rohan into Mako's arms, giving him up when she was too tired to hold him any longer.

"Mako," she had whispered, lying back down. "Thank you." She had curled to her side, and had soon fallen asleep.

Now he was leaning against the wall, cradling the young boy in his arms. Tenzin was back in his seat, a hand always present on his wife's shoulder.

"Mako?"

"Yes?" He answered, looking up from the baby. Rohan was asleep too, but to Mako, it was the most fascinating thing in the world.

"Thank you for helping Pema while I wasn't here." He hadn't looked up from his wife's sleeping form.

The Firebender smiled, understanding why he wouldn't turn. "You're welcome."

"Tenzin? Is everything alright?"

"Shh!"

Korra burst into the room, the door very close to slamming against the wall. Asami, Bolin, and Lu Ten were behind her, all looking around anxiously.

Mako kept his attention focused on Rohan, cooing a little when he squirmed. He had nearly woken.

"What's his name?" Mako recognized Asami's whisper.

Tenzin looked back to his baby, another grin stretched across his face. "Rohan."

Mako looked up, then, and his gaze connected with Korra's. She looked so happy, with a warm smile and wide eyes as she observed him and the baby.

"You want to hold him?"

Korra's smile fell. "I-" She looked nervous, and Mako understood that she was afraid of hurting him.

Mako chuckled, giving her a gently smile. "It isn't difficult, Korra," he urged.

He knew she was agreeing with him when she took a few steps, stopping about arms length away from him. He stood from the wall, maneuvering the bundle into Korra's arms. Mako made sure to place Rohan's head into the crook of her elbow, before letting his hands drop.

Her expression lit up again, and he couldn't help but grin back at her. She didn't see of course, because she was so engrossed with the baby.

"See?" His grin widened. "I told you it wasn't hard."

Korra laughed lightly, biting her lip as Rohan mumbled some noises. "Yeah, yeah. You're always right." She brushed a finger lightly down his cheek.

A thought suddenly occurred to Mako, and he glanced over Korra's shoulder to face the other three teenagers, "What happened? Did you guys find Amon?"

Bolin nodded. "Yeah, he and a bunch of other Equalists were at this super creepy warehouse. We all fought for a really long time, and then they just disappeared."

"That's our fault," Korra said quickly, nodding back to Asami. "We chased Amon out of a window. He must have given the order to leave soon after."

As soon as the words left Korra's mouth, Asami surged forward, pushing past the people in her way to grab Mako's wrist. "Come with me," she demanded, dragging him to the door and ignoring his whimpers of pain.

"I wonder what that's about." He saw Bolin stick his head out of the door, shooting him a sympathetic glance.

Mako finally regained his footing, but he still stumbled slightly with Asami's quick pace.

"Asami, what's going on?"

For a moment she didn't answer. He realized after a few more seconds passed that she had stopped walking, and that they were inside her bedroom.

Asami turned to face him, crossing her arms over her chest.

And suddenly Mako knew exactly what she was going to say.

* * *

A:N: I am so, so sorry that this reply took so long! I hope you guys can forgive me, look I gave you MakoxRohan feels. Does that help?

Sorry again! I lope you enjoyed this chapter, let me know what you think!


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